Churches, civil society and unions insist electoral team must resign

NCCK Secretary General, Reverend Canon Peter Karanja (right) flanked by Bishop Cornelius Korir during multi-sectoral forum briefing in Nairobi yesterday. An umbrella body of churches, civil society groups and trade unions has maintained its stand that the electoral commissioners must vacate office to avert possible chaos. (PHOTO: WILLIS AWANDU/ STANDARD)

An umbrella body of churches, civil society groups and trade unions has maintained its stand that the electoral commissioners must vacate office to avert possible chaos.

Under the banner of Multi-Sectorial Forum (MSF), the group yesterday said the current Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) officials must give way to a new team even if they were absolved of any wrongdoing.

They said credibility issues raised against the commissioners disqualified them from conducting the 2017 General Election.

“This Multi-Sectorial Forum maintains that considering the recent history and credibility crisis of IEBC, even if they are not found culpable through an investigation it is important for the current commission to give way so that a new commission is appointed,” said Canon Peter Karanja, the Secretary General of National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK).

They said the move by Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) to clear the commissioners of any wrongdoing should not be used to shield them from being pushed out of office, saying the parliamentary committee only dealt with specific issues raised by an individual.

“We have no quarrel with the action of JLAC because it is a mandated committee to carry out a function. As you know their recommendation is in response to a memorandum to a particular individual. It is not necessarily to say that they are not guilty of anything,” added Canon Karanja.

The groups raised concerns over the bitter rivalry between JLAC and the Joint Parliamentary Select Committee and advised that the talks on IEBC be devoid of “political theatrics and drama”.

They said the fights risk stalling the talks that seeks to ensure the country gets a credible electoral body that will preside over the next polls.

“It is in this view that we appeal to the two committees to be magnanimous enough and let reason prevail in resolving issues around electoral reforms. This can be achieved through dialogue and a meeting of both committees, maybe presided over by leaders of majority and minority, or speakers of both houses,” said the joint statement read by Kisumu Archbishop Zacchaeus Okoth.

On Tuesday, CORD dismissed a joint report by the Samuel Chepkonga-led committee in a charged parliamentary proceeding, saying its members were not involved in its preparation. CORD had de-whipped its members from the joint committee, claiming they had been denied an opportunity to participate in discussions to reform the electoral commission.

On Tuesday while attending the forum, Narc-Kenya leader Martha Karua also insisted that the commissioners have no option but to leave office. Ms Karua had also termed the JLAC action as an attempt to derail the process of reforming the commission.

In the statement issued by the groups after a two-day consultation forum held at Ufungamano in Nairobi, they recommend that the commissioners leave office through a negotiated formula as soon as possible so as to allow a new team in. They warned politicians against using the ongoing electoral crisis to change the date of the elections scheduled for August 8, 2017.

The groups said they will submit their memoranda and draft bills on IEBC to the Joint Parliamentary Select Committee, in which they will seek for the removal of the current commissioners.

The statement said, “The political class should not use the current debate on IEBC as an excuse to tamper with the date of the next elections.”