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Message: [QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 80216, member: 636"] Kenya's Prime Cabinet Secretary, Musalia Mudavadi, is floating a big idea for the next national vote. He wants to combine the 2027 general election with a constitutional referendum. Mudavadi, who also handles foreign affairs, suggested that several unresolved issues could be turned into simple yes or no questions for voters. He thinks the current election commission, the IEBC, can manage both ballots at the same time without a huge extra cost. This would let Kenyans vote for leaders and directly decide on amendments to the 2010 constitution in one go. He named a few specific topics that could be settled this way. One is the implementation of the NADCO report, which has seen little progress. Another is the long-debated question of creating a substantive Prime Minister position. The endless arguments over the two-thirds gender rule and the legal status of the Constituency Development Fund could also be put on the referendum ballot. Mudavadi argued that parliament and the courts have struggled to resolve these matters. Taking them directly to the public would provide clear answers and stop the constant political bickering after every election cycle. He made these comments during a year-end interview in Nairobi. Mudavadi believes this approach would save time and taxpayer money by avoiding separate nationwide votes. It would also likely lead to higher voter turnout. He expressed confidence that Kenyan voters are mature enough to handle selecting candidates and answering constitutional questions on a single ballot. His goal is to start a national discussion on the proposal next year, ahead of the 2027 election, to finally settle persistent governance debates and let the country focus on development. [/QUOTE]

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