IEBC commissioners vow to stay put

IEBC Chaiman Isaak Hassan with Commissioners CEO Ezra Chiloba ( left ) and Commissioner Thomas Wetangule says his team will not resign during a Press briefing at the Commissioners head office Nairobi 05/05/16 PHOTO MOSES OMUSULA

The beleaguered electoral commissioners have vowed not to resign despite sustained criticism by the Opposition over corruption allegations and credibility concerns.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) swore to stay put and preside over the 2017 General Election – brushing aside election boycott threats by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi, as well as concerns raised by other groups.

In a statement read by the commission’s chairman Ahmed Issack Hassan, IEBC said vacating office would set a dangerous precedent “if every time we disagree with a decision, we seek the removal from office of those we do not agree with.”

“We have examined the flippant allegations and the systematic attempts to discredit the commission. For the avoidance of doubt, the commissioners are not resigning,” Mr Hassan told a Press briefing at the commission’s headquarters in Nairobi.

And yesterday, Hassan hit out at Raila over his sensational claims that IEBC had made a deal with President Uhuru Kenyatta to manipulate the elections in favour of the Head of State on the promise that the commissioners would be awarded State jobs upon retirement.

The commission dared Raila to produce evidence to back up his claims, saying they would resign if such evidence was made public.

“CORD leader Raila Odinga has claimed publicly in media interviews that the commissioners have entered into an agreement with the Jubilee coalition and the President to rig the next election in return for jobs. This is not true,” he said.

Without providing evidence, Raila said during an interview with a local television station that “he himself (Uhuru) is a player, then acting as a referee at the same time. (He is) trying to force on the people a referee whom he knows and has already made a deal with that he gets re-elected.”

“I know the kind of negotiations he has had with IEBC and the kind of undertakings they have given him... they have been instructed to ensure he wins then they would be appointed to certain positions,” he alleged.

More protests

Yesterday’s declaration by IEBC will escalate the confrontation between the commission and the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD), which has called on its supporters to storm the electoral agency’s officers countrywide on Monday.

In the conference attended by CEO Ezra Chiloba, and commissioners Albert Camus Onyango Bwire, Kule Galma Godana, Thomas Letangule, Muthoni Wangai, Amb Yusuf Nzibo and Eng Abdullahi Sharawe, IEBC said it would only meet CORD in a structured manner.

The commissioners told off CORD leaders over their unorthodox means to eject them from office, and told them to follow the rule of law.

“We wish to reiterate here that this is a country governed by the rule of law...it (Constitution) is the foundation of our nationhood and the basis of our being as a commission,” he added.

IEBC accused the Opposition of doublespeak, citing the commission’s decision not to strike off Bungoma Senator Moses Wetang’ula’s name from the voters register which was praised by CORD and the ruling that Okoa Kenya signatures did not meet the constitutional threshold that angered them.

“You can’t vilify us for one and praise us for another merely because it is unfavourable,” he said.

The commissioners decried sustained attack on their persons, stating that holding a public office was not an excuse to be defamed.

Pressure for IEBC to leave office before the next polls has continued to build up, with the National Council of Churches of Kenya, the Central Organisation of Trade Union (Cotu) and Law Society of Kenya joining the fray.

One of the reasons cited by various groups calling for the disbandment of the commission was the alleged involvement of Hassan in the ‘Chickengate’ scandal, in which directors of UK printing firm Smith & Ouzman were convicted of paying out bribes totaling Sh59 million to the country’s electoral and examination officials.

But the chairman defended himself over the allegations, terming them “extreme injustice and falsehoods”.

The IEBC chairman insisted on his innocence, stating that they had recorded statements with EACC and expected speedy conclusion of investigations “so that we can be vindicated.” While admitting that its credibility was at an all-time low, the commission blamed CORD saying it had sustained negative campaigns against it.

To restore its image and win back public confidence ahead of the polls, IEBC announced that it had hired the services of consultants.

The commission further said it would increase its interaction with election stakeholders, as well as its presence and interaction in the country’s 47 counties.

And with their focus being to preside over next year’s elections, IEBC said it was working on its electoral technologies to avert some of the failures witnessed in the 2013 General Election.