Kick IEBC commissioners out now, demands Raila

CORD leader Raila Odinga now wants electoral commissioners to be given termination letters with immediate effect.

The Opposition also threatened a return of street protests to push Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) officials out.

Raila said having the commissioners in office is unfortunate considering the joint parliamentary committee had provided a road map for constituting a new commission by September 30.

The commissioners are yet to vacate office reportedly because the Government has not worked out a pay plan to compensate them for removal from office before expiry of their tenure.

RECIPE FOR DISASTER

Yesterday, Raila said retaining the commissioners is a recipe for disaster as this means the timelines provided in the law of having a new team in place, procurement of electoral equipment and having them tested two months before the elections will not be possible.

“This is unfortunate. This matter was negotiated after a lot of conflicts that led to the Joint Commission being formed that delivered its mandate as required. But the government seems to be dragging its feet,” said Raila.

He further blamed President Uhuru Kenyatta for delaying the electoral reforms, saying he took his time to assent to the bill.

This came as opposition politicians threatened to go back to street protests over claims that the Jubilee administration was deliberately delaying the process of recruiting new commissioners to supervise the August 2017 polls.

ODM Director of Elections Junnet Mohammed challenged those charged with full implementation of the reforms to explain to Kenyans why the process has stalled.

But the ruling Jubilee coalition dismissed CORD’s remarks, saying the Opposition is not interested in electoral reforms, but is instead looking for political relevance.