MPs offer best way to resolve IEBC impasse

There is hope at last. After weeks of uncertainty in which the Opposition Cord coalition held rallies to force out of office commissioners of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), it was comforting that a group of 47 Members of Parliament from the Jubilee coalition and the Opposition have resolved to spearhead electoral reforms.

Weekly protests in Nairobi and other major cities that often turned violent was clearly not the best way; neither was the intransigence from members of the ruling coalition. So it is hoped that the MPs' caucus convened by Ugenya MP David Ochieng (CORD) and Mukurweini MP Kabando wa Kabando (Jubilee) is going to unlock the impasse. Although the Leader of Majority Aden Duale was quick to pour cold water on this initiative, the willingness by members of the political class to sit and discuss the issues is good for the country because it will defuse the palpable tension.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and members of his ruling Jubilee coalition have insisted on a solution initiated through a parliamentary process. The Opposition has shown little enthusiasm for that, perhaps because they are aware that they lack the numbers to push through a motion in Parliament. So the caucus provides the political class with a forum to vent their views and reach an amicable solution.

No doubt, the dimension the IEBC matter has taken calls for a political solution if the country is to avoid costly political showdowns that is rife with violence, destruction, injury and even death. Also, the country cannot afford another round of bloody confrontation that to a large extent, deals a heavy blow to the fragile economy.

For the talks to succeed, the players must espouse objectivity, sincerity and honesty. The desire should be to put the country before self and design proposals that takes care of the interests of a majority of Kenyans.