THE opposition is seeking a deal similar to the 1997 Inter-Party Parliamentary Group consensus that will see the IEBC bosses sacked and replaced with bipartisan commissioners.
Cord has resolved to kick the IEBC chiefs out, but will have to negotiate with Jubilee so their plans to have representatives on the commission can be implemented.
Opposition leaders led their supporters in storming the IEBC offices last Monday, in a protest that ended with their being teargassed, but have announced that they will be back every Monday until they get their way.
The IPPG electoral reforms negotiated between President Daniel Moi's Kanu and the then massed opposition was enacted into law in November, only a month before the 1997 General Election. The reforms called for repealing some colonial-era laws and, more important, expanding the composition of the then Electoral Commission. The opposition parties then got a chance to nominate commissioners.
Yesterday, as proof that Cord will not relent, Wiper Democratic Movement boss Kalonzo Musyoka told President Kenyatta to join the opposition and force the IEBC chiefs out.
Although the constitution is clear Kenyatta has no powers to sack the commissioners, he can join the growing number of dissatisfied Kenyans who want a new commission in place.
Kalonzo said Kenyans will not tolerate “another stolen poll” and thus their resolve to smoke out the IEBC cannot be reversed.
“No one asked Uhuru to sack the commissioners because that is not his responsibility, but he can add his voice, if he cares for this country, that we cannot afford to have another stolen election, Kenyans will not accept."
On Friday Kenyatta told a gathering in Kisii that he had no powers to sack the IEBC bosses.
Kalonzo made the statement at the Kaningo Secondary School, Mwingi North constituency, during a fundraiser in aid of the school.
He confirmed Cord supporters will camp outside and picket the IEBC offices at Anniversary Towers next Monday.
Cord had announced further countrywide weekly demonstrations, but later said this has been put on hold in honour of the late Mama Lucy Kibaki, whose body arrived from London at dawn yesterday.
Last week, Justice Isaac Lenaola barred Cord from storming the IEBC offices after five Jubilee MPs dashed to court to slam the brakes on the opposition’s initiative.
However, Cord lawyers James Orengo and Paul Mwangi said the order “amounts to nothing and the planned demos will continue because we are not breaking the law".
In the IPPG pact Kanu, the Democratic Party (then led by Mwai Kibaki), Ford Kenya, Ford Asili and Safina each had a nominee on the now-defunct Electoral Commission of Kenya.
Setting up the IEBC was also a negotiated process, following the disbanding of the ECK after the disputed 2007 elections.
Both sides of the Grand Coalition Government, which was led by President Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga as Prime Minister, were equally involved in selecting the IEBC commissioners.
Cord co-principal Moses Wetang’ula has told President Uhuru Kenyatta that he should brace himself for negotiations similar to those that produced the IPPG.
"If we humbled Mzee Moi, yet under the old constitution he had absolute powers, he should not think he is invincible. Let him read the signs of the times," Wetang’ula said.
Raila has accused the Jubilee government and the IEBC of arguing against reforms for a democratic electoral system.
"Three years after an election characterised by missing forms and ever-shifting numbers in the voter register, virtually nothing is going on. We are being told to sit back and wait for a miracle," he said.
He added; "If Kenyans are asked whether they know any concrete steps being taken by the IEBC to prepare for the polls, the honest answer will be 'no'."
In its failed referendum attempt, Cord wanted the constitution amended to provide that the commissioners of the IEBC are nominated by parliamentary political parties and serve on a non-executive part-time basis.
The opposition's argument has been that the assumption there are Kenyans who have no political affiliations is unrealistic.
ODM politicians, led by party chairman John Mbadi and MPs Gladys Wanga (Homa Bay) and Tom Kajwang’ (Ruaraka), have also said the IPPG model was the only way out.
"We can only have free and fair elections in this country if ODM, URP, TNA, Kanu and other political parties contribute to the formation of an electoral body. There is no reason for anybody to fear the use of the IPPG model, unless they are conspiring with the IEBC," said Wanga.
Though some Jubilee leaders led by Deputy President William Ruto have insisted the disbandment of the IEBC must follow the constitution, there are those who want changes at the commission.
"I completely disagree with Cord’s unorthodox style, but as I told one of the IEBC commissioners 10 days ago, we will definitely need to spur confidence in the electoral agency. The ChickenGate scam clouds hang darkly. Credibility issues. Let's reconstitute it, and Jubilee will still win big! Fact is: We will have a new IEBC for the next poll," Mukurwe-ini MP Kabando wa Kabando was quoted last week as saying.
"If there are people who do not want the IEBC more than you, it is us. This is because this is a creation of you and retired President Mwai Kibaki. As Jubilee, we do no have any stake in it, but the only way to do this is through dialogue," TNA chairman Johnson Sakaja told Raila when they met in church on Sunday.
However, others like Ruto and Duale have accused the opposition of attempting an unconstitutional coup by wanting the IEBC to be “disbanded outside the law”.
"We must appreciate that Kenya has a robust constitution. You cannot disband the IEBC by storming its offices. Cord has 132 MPs. One of the MPs can bring the petition to Parliament and if proper ground is achieved, due process will be followed," Duale said.
The IEBC has welcomed any engagement, but given a clear indication that it was not ready to be hounded out of office in the manner that Cord is attempting.
"The coalition has also queried the suitability of the current commissioners to preside over the next general election and demanded that it be reconstituted. The mode of appointment and removal of the IEBC commissioners, like any other constitutional commission, is well within the knowledge of Cord," the IEBC said last week after the botched storming of its offices.