By Lillian Aluanga
With just six months to the elections, there are concerns adequate measures have not been put in place to safeguard the process.
Delays in passing election rules, lack of mechanisms to implement the two-thirds gender rule, weak legislation on ethics and integrity, failure to appoint a registrar of politcal parties, and the slow pace in police reforms are being viewed as indicators that more needs to be done to secure the country’s first election under the new Constitution.
The latest move by Parliament, through the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee, seeking more time to scrutinise legislation on elections will see the Elections Act amended. Among the changes anticipated is a shortening of timelines previously set for processes like voter registration. This will be reduced from 90 to 60 days.
Other aspects covered by the rules include those on the Diaspora voting, voter education, and General Election rules. Parliament agreed to change the law, allowing for two more months, to agree on regulations that will govern the elections. Previously, the
Act had stipulated that election rules be in place six months prior to the polls. This, however, proved untenable since the rules were tabled last week, at a time when they should already have been approved by Parliament.
“The consequence of delaying passage of regulations intended to operationalise the Elections Act is that it substantially eats into timelines envisaged by the law, thus affecting effective management of the polls,” says Electoral Institute for the Sustainability of Democracy in Africa (EISA) Country director Felix Odhiambo.
To free the IEBC and allow it fully concentrate on the main aspects of the election, Odhiambo proposes that other organs such as the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal and Judiciary Working Committee on Elections Preparation be allowed to handle some processes.
Although the Elections Act gives IEBC powers to determine disputes arising from party nominations, Odhiambo says, limited time and workload on the electoral body may necessitate use of other organs such as the Political Parties Dispute Tribunal.
Differences between the Coalition’s Principals were largely blamed for the delay in setting up the National Police Service Commission (NPSC). The commission is expected to play a role in selecting two deputies to the Inspector General of Police.
Earlier, PM Raila Odinga had disowned a list of persons nominated to the commission saying he was not consulted. Last week, however saw the Principals nominate Johnstone Kavuludi as chair to the commission. Parliament is yet to pass the list of nominees.
Police reforms
The National Police Service Act requires a selection panel, that will handle recruitment of an Inspector General of Police, be set up within 14 days of commencement of the Act. That legislation was assented to in August 2011.
Haki Focus Executive director Harun Ndubi says reducing time frames previously set by law should not be viewed as a solution since this too has its disadvantages. “We are seeing a situation where some people want to precipitate a technical and legal crisis and create a situation where elections are hurried,” he says.
He argues that time limits previously set out were aimed at giving the public and other bodies like the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC) and IEBC sufficient time to vet candidates to various positions. But there are also other processes that need adequate time.
“There are bound to be persons aggrieved by party nominations. Will there be enough time to adequately handle these grievances given that we are already behind schedule?” poses Ndubi.
National Convention Executive Council’s Cyprian Nyamwamu says the political leadership should do more to ensure a free, fair and credible process.
“The Executive and Cabinet are largely to blame for majority of these delays. There has also been a general sparring between ODM and PNU, which has stalled appointment of a new Registrar of Political Parties,” says Nyamwamu.
Ideally, the country should have had a new Registrar by February 2012, to manage the fresh registration of political parties under the new laws. But differences between ODM and PNU have largely been blamed for failure to reach a compromise on leadership of the parliamentary committee on Justice and Legal Affairs. The committee is expected to play a key role in the recruitment of a Registrar.
“We don’t have a Registrar of Political Parties in the strictest sense, because the role and mandate of the current office differs from what was envisaged by the Political Parties Act 2011,” says Nyamwamu. Elections Observation Group (ELOG) Steering Committee chair, Kennedy Masime, says there should be no excuse to delay processes linked to the elections given that the country has had two years since promulgation of a new Constitution to effect the changes.
He singles out the pending voter registration as a key concern and says time is running out for embarking on the process targeted at netting at least 18 million voters. Kenyatta University lecturer Edward Kisiang’ani points to ‘insecurities’ among the political leadership as a major factor fuelling delays.
“The delays are a way of creating perceptions that we have run short of time, hence open a window for rushing through legislation that isn’t up to scratch. This will have an overall effect on how we conduct the process,” he says.
There is, however, a general consensus on the need for public and other independent Commissions to be more proactive in ensuring a credible and fair poll. While the Judiciary has been lauded for being responsive to various issues, Peace Net’s policy advisor Nyang’ori Ohenjo says it must be activated to do so.
“The Judiciary cannot act unless it is prodded to do so. We need a peaceful election and people of integrity to occupy public offices. But even if we were to go for elections today, what safeguards do we have to ensure a credible process?” he poses.
