IEBC ‘can’t handle credible poll’
What you need to know:
- The President encouraged the commission to work with all stakeholders in the implementation of reforms, saying an electoral body is fundamental to any democracy.
- Mr Hassan also disclosed the commission’s intention to acquire a building that will be its headquarters.
- But Cord leaders are upset by the business-as-usual approach to IEBC matters. In their commentary they say: “Inaction over IEBC is happening at the expense of precious time that should be spent in agreeing on a framework for reform of the IEBC as would make it ready to run the next elections in 2017.”
Cord leaders have launched a stinging attack on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and demanded that commissioners be sent home before the 2017 polls.
Opposition leaders Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetang’ula say in a joint statement that the appointment of Mr Ezra Chiloba as the new chief executive officer was merely a cover-up of the ills at the commission that they demand be overhauled.
The opposition leaders accuse the IEBC of playing games to buy time as the next elections approach when they should in fact be subjected to a thorough audit and sent packing.
“The significance of the appointment of Mr Chiloba as CEO is that it compounds the cover-up that has been going on at the IEBC since the last elections. In him, the commissioners have a further layer of protection from scrutiny,” the leaders say in a commentary published elsewhere in this paper.
Mr Chiloba, who was appointed the new CEO last week, is expected to officially take over office any time from tomorrow.
Opposition leaders insist there should be a proper, independent internal audit of the IEBC to find those responsible for the failures witnessed in the 2013 elections.
According to the Cord leaders, the commission is tainted and its credibility has sunk to a point that it cannot handle a credible poll.
The Cord statement came just a day after President Uhuru Kenyatta met chairman Ahmed Issack Hassan at Harambee House to discuss ongoing reforms at the commission.
According to a statement by the presidential communications team, chairman Hassan and other commissioners briefed the President on the progress made in implementing reforms IEBC has embarked on.
OWN BUILDING
The President encouraged the commission to work with all stakeholders in the implementation of reforms, saying an electoral body is fundamental to any democracy.
The legal reforms Mr Hassan presented address registration and voting of Kenyans in the diaspora, legislation on the use of appropriate technologies, regulation of political parties, campaign financing, and mechanisms for resolving electoral disputes. Mr Hassan also disclosed the commission’s intention to acquire a building that will be its headquarters.
“This is in line with practices by other election management bodies that have their own buildings. This is the best practice as happens in other countries, including Ghana, India, Botswana and South Africa,” said the IEBC chairman. He said the commission’s current home — Anniversary Towers in Nairobi — is congested and fraught with security vulnerabilities.
But Cord leaders are upset by the business-as-usual approach to IEBC matters. In their commentary they say: “Inaction over IEBC is happening at the expense of precious time that should be spent in agreeing on a framework for reform of the IEBC as would make it ready to run the next elections in 2017.”
Cord leaders also raise constitutional concerns that they claim could turn the next elections into a quagmire in case of a re-run, saying all the commissioners will leave office two months after polls, before handling fully the run-off.
Issues surrounding the chicken scandal by the commission’s predecessor, the Interim Independent Electoral Commission, and the handling of procurement in the run-up to the 2013 General Election have also been raised.
