The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) faced attacks from politicians unhappy with the manner in which it carved out 80 new constituencies.
The body that is charged with overseeing Kenya’s first general election under the current Constitution faces the difficult task of erasing the memories of its predecessor, the Electoral Commission of Kenya whose bungling of the 2007 polls is partly to blame for the post-election violence that followed a dispute over the winner of the presidential ballot.
That some political leaders are working behind the scenes to paint the IEBC as some sort of Trojan horse that should be put on a tight leash is not in doubt.
What is worrying is that they might actually succeed in crippling the ability of the commission to conduct a credible general election.
They are unhappy that for the first time in Kenya’s history neither the Executive, which has vested interests in the outcome of the polls, denials notwithstanding, or Parliament can meddle in the affairs of an electoral body.
In fact, the only way the polls can be sabotaged is by denying the IEBC money.
Dishonest leaders have used the debate over how much cash the IEBC needs for the massive exercise to try and paint the electoral body as wasteful, among other things.
Why, for instance, is the Government insistent that the IEBC use State vehicles to transport electoral officials and materials to polling stations?
credible process
Why is it possible for a poor country like Kenya to finance a war in a neighbouring country yet deny the IEBC funds to entrench democracy through a credible electoral process yet both are critical to enhancing peace and security?
We hope that donors will line up to aid the IEBC if, as expected, Finance minister Njeru Githae cuts its budget drastically as he has promised.
Following the events of four years ago, another discredited general election can only mean doom for our beloved country.
