{"count":1608389,"next":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=139516","previous":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/?format=json&page=139514","results":[{"id":1411561,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1411561/?format=json","text_counter":309,"type":"scene","speaker_name":"","speaker_title":"","speaker":null,"content":"(Technical hitch)"},{"id":1411562,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1411562/?format=json","text_counter":310,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Kibra, ODM","speaker_title":"Hon. Peter Orero","speaker":null,"content":" Hon. Temporary Speaker, I think he is not ready. Allow me to contribute."},{"id":1411563,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1411563/?format=json","text_counter":311,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. Omboko Milemba","speaker_title":"The Temporary Speaker","speaker":{"id":13328,"legal_name":"Jeremiah Omboko Milemba","slug":"jeremiah-omboko-milemba"},"content":" Very well. We shall go to the Member for Kibra and then we come back to Hon. Anthony Oluoch. There is some technical hiccup, but we will come back to you. Proceed, Member for Kibra, Mwalimu Orero."},{"id":1411564,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1411564/?format=json","text_counter":312,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Mathare, ODM","speaker_title":"Hon. Anthony Oluoch","speaker":null,"content":" I now have the microphone. Hon. Temporary Speaker, I thank you for giving me this opportunity to contribute."},{"id":1411565,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1411565/?format=json","text_counter":313,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. Omboko Milemba","speaker_title":"The Temporary Speaker","speaker":{"id":13328,"legal_name":"Jeremiah Omboko Milemba","slug":"jeremiah-omboko-milemba"},"content":" Order, Hon. Anthony Oluoch. We have to correct that you are the one speaking on this matter. Proceed."},{"id":1411566,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1411566/?format=json","text_counter":314,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Mathare, ODM","speaker_title":"Hon. Anthony Oluoch","speaker":null,"content":" Thank you for that, Hon. Temporary Speaker. I thank you for giving me the opportunity to contribute. I also thank the NADCO that came up with this very elaborate Bill, alongside eight other Bills which will be brought to this House. They will give effect to the bipartisan approach that came as a result of protracted issues that arose post-election. This Bill raises a number of things. The first one that I will speak about is additional qualifications that have been introduced for one to qualify as a commissioner in IEBC. One should have ICT and accounting skills which is an important qualification. Among the requirements under Article 38 of the Constitution, one very important duty that is required of the commissioners is to collate votes. There has been a lot of contestation during the elections, and in particular on the day of announcements on the questions of addition, collation and delays that accompany this. This holds this country in a lot of suspense and tension that is unnecessary. One more important thing why this qualification is important is because our data and the election results are stored in some servers which, for some reasons, we outsource to persons outside this country. When we pass this amendment, we must also have accompanying regulations that demand that our election results should not be stored in servers outside this country. This touches on, among other things, the question of sovereignty and intellectual property rights. When we have election disputes, we have to call a foreign country like Venezuela to get the results. Among the things that have become very contentious is the question of election audit. The servers and systems where we store our results should be resident in this country. If the The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor"},{"id":1411567,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1411567/?format=json","text_counter":315,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Mathare, ODM","speaker_title":"Hon. Anthony Oluoch","speaker":null,"content":"responsibility will be on a commissioner, then he or she should be able to develop a system on how we can store our election data. I also agree that we need to increase the selection panel from seven to nine people. One of the things you must do when you conduct an election is to imbue confidence among the players and the people who will vote. That is so that there is confidence that election referees will be impartial when citizens exercise their rights under Article 38 of the Constitution. Showing that impartiality to Kenyans begins with the selection process. Increasing the number from seven to nine achieves inclusivity. I note with satisfaction that the nominees of the Parliamentary Service Commission include a representative of the Majority and the Minority. Similarly, there is a representative of the party or coalition of parties forming government or is the Majority. There is a representative of the party or coalition of parties that forms the Minority. Other people and diverse stakeholders are included. This goes a long way to try to ensure that there is inclusivity and confidence building in the process of recruiting commissioners with the widest possible acceptance. The Bill also seeks to ensure that the IEBC conducts an internal review equivalent to the audit that many Kenyans were asking after the 2022 election. It will now be a requirement. One of the things the IEBC would say is that there is no law demanding or requiring them to carry out an audit. The requirement is now there. This audit should include, among other things, an audit of the servers. One of the questions at the Supreme Court for every election petition is an audit of the servers. The servers are extremely opaque. They are sublet to foreign countries or persons in foreign countries, whom we are unable to reach. They would then say that they have intellectual copyright issues that do not allow them to allow people to get into these servers. I think there will be need for accompanying regulations. Whoever gets these contracts, if they must be foreigners, must cede to the fact that it is the right of the electorate and the people who vote and contract them to access these servers to carry out reviews. The reviews include an audit of results and elections stored in those servers. This Bill also seeks to ensure there is cohesion. We have intended or sought to deal with historical questions of the dispute of the last election since this has been achieved by the manner in which we try to carry out the selection panel, in particular, the issue about the four commissioners who were subjected to a dishonourable exit. We have recently buried General Ogolla. With the burial, belatedly, none other than the President of the Republic of Kenya and the Cabinet Secretary for Defence exonerated General Ogolla from any ill intent during the last election. Similarly, we need to review the decisions made against the four commissioners and exonerate them by allowing them a dignified exit. This is so as we have closure and realise the bipartisan spirit with which we approached the talks that gave birth to this amendment Bill. Because of the Bill that will be passed, we need to review and recall the decision that gave these commissioners a dishonourable exit. There is a question of delimitation. Delimitation under the Constitution was intended to be done, at least, eight years and not later than 12 years. Unfortunately, because of the circumstances that led to the last general election and the untimely exit of the commissioners and its disbandment, we are approaching the tail end, actually, the last month, the 11th hour, 55th minute of the time that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission is required to carry out delimitation. The question of delimitation has a number of implications. There are, at least, 30 constituencies that were saved during the last delimitation. What will happen to these constituencies is something that this Bill should seek to address because once it expires even those Members of Parliament and I see Member for Ruiru sitting here, I am not sure that his constituency was among the ones that were saved. If his constituency was one that was saved, it means that he ceases to be a Member of Parliament, and his constituents will cease to enjoy all other services The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor"},{"id":1411568,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1411568/?format=json","text_counter":316,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Mathare, ODM","speaker_title":"Hon. Anthony Oluoch","speaker":null,"content":"that accompany it like allocation of National Government Constituencies Development Fund and allocation of any other appropriations that we make in this House. Lastly, on the issue of continuous voter registration, there are a number of people who have become 18 years or are approaching 18 years and need to enjoy the rights under Article 38 of the Constitution, the right to vote and the right to elect a person of their choice. In the 11th Parliament, when I was practising as a lawyer, Hon. Opiyo Wandayi was removed from this House allegedly for dishonourable conduct. I went to court and Justice Odunga gave a ruling that the right of the people to representation cannot be taken away. This right, as a result of the lapse that we have allowed, will be taken away when we do not allow IEBC…."},{"id":1411569,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1411569/?format=json","text_counter":317,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Hon. Omboko Milemba","speaker_title":"The Temporary Speaker","speaker":{"id":13328,"legal_name":"Jeremiah Omboko Milemba","slug":"jeremiah-omboko-milemba"},"content":" Hon. Orero."},{"id":1411570,"url":"http://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1411570/?format=json","text_counter":318,"type":"speech","speaker_name":"Kibra, ODM","speaker_title":"Hon. Peter Orero","speaker":null,"content":" Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker, for giving me this chance also to contribute on the amendments to the IEBC (Amendment) Bill. As a country, we have come from far since Independence. We must retrace our steps. Long time ago, we did not have commissioners. We were a single-party state but when we changed to a multi-party democracy, people realised that we needed to have a democratic space in this country. From that time, as a country, we thought that we needed to have commissioners with integrity. This Bill has come about because of the last general election, and every other year that we have had an election, we always have issues with how the elections are conducted. We cannot refuse to take cognisance of the fact that the composition of the commissioners came as a result of the NADCO Report. Initially, the ruling Government had decided that the commissioners would be appointed with or without the other side of the Government, but because of the serious conflict that came after the elections, it was only necessary that this country comes together and brings out formalities and modalities of choosing new commissioners. I suggest that the term limit of the commissioners be five years because they undergo a very vigorous process during voting. I think this is the only country in the world that has very many features in our ballot papers during elections. We also have our fingerprints verified during elections. We take this election so seriously that this country puts a lot of resources into ensuring that our elections are free and fair, which has never been so. As parliamentarians, we are here as a product of the elections. Nobody can come to this august House without going through elections. Therefore, it is our singular responsibility to ensure that those who are nominated as commissioners carry themselves with a lot of integrity and patriotism. I am happy that we have allowed Members of the selection panel to be increased from seven to nine. This will ensure that we have broad-based personalities to choose high ranking Kenyans with better credentials, to conduct our elections in the near future. I am also happy that both sides of Parliament; the Majority and Minority have been included as part and parcel of the selection panel. This will ensure that the right personnel are nominated as commissioners so that future general elections are conducted in a free and conducive environment. This reminds me that the nominated commissioners should ensure that our elections are free and fair. Also, they should carry out audits immediately after elections are done, but the time for appeal if the elections are not done properly, has always been very limited. I remember last time we were struggling to avail documentation within one week or so. We need to push the time limit for appeals so that those who want to appeal can have enough time and judgment is done appropriately. Not the way it has been previously done. Again, I am happy that this Bill talks about the conduct of the CEO of IEBC. Before, the CEO had more powers than commissioners. So, we need to look at the powers of the CEO, commissioners and chairperson of IEBC. This will ensure that we do not have conflict of interest. As a country, we need to move from where we are and gain a more democratic space. So, we can carry out elections and review boundaries of our constituencies in a more amicable way. The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor"}]}