Looming clash over IEBC can be avoided

Ugly confrontations between the Opposition and the Government are set to resume next week over the fate of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

Early this year, the Opposition laid siege to the Anniversary Towers, where the IEBC is housed, demanding the removal of commissioners whose credibility had come into question.

The results of what had come to be known as the ‘every Monday siege’ were death, destruction of property and business losses that ran into millions of shillings as traders kept their premises locked out of fear and as a precautionary measure.

The eventual setting up of a joint select parliamentary committee ended  these demonstrations and Kenyans breathed a sigh of relief, believing their leaders had finally come to their senses and realised the safety of Kenyans takes precedence over their own interests.

But, alas, it turns out that was a false truce. One of the protagonists feels the other has been buying time since the recommendations of the Joint Select Committee are yet to be actualised.

Given that it falls on the Government to effect the recommendations that would finally see the selection of new IEBC commissioners by September 30, 2016, indications are that the Government is the culprit here.

Clearly, we have run out of time but the Government has done little, choosing instead to point fingers at the Treasury, which has not provided funds to compensate the commissioners who would be leaving office ahead of their time.

Paying the current commissioners their dues is a little price to pay in comparison to what might happen if we go into the 2017 elections without a revamped electoral agency and an electoral dispute on the presidency arises.

The process of getting new commissioners must therefore be set in motion immediately. Our leaders should eschew petty party politics and focus on the bigger Kenyan picture.