CORD is seeking a review of the 300,000 Okoa Kenya signatures rejected by the electoral commission.
The Opposition wants the number added to the 891,598 legitimate signatures so as to allow the referendum campaign go to the next stage – the counties—for approval.
If the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) fails to grant a date for a meeting or consider the signatures, the opposition plans a one-million-man march to the commission’s offices to prove that they have a million people behind their quest to amend the Constitution.
A day after the CORD co-principals Raila Odinga, Moses Wetang’ula and Kalonzo Musyoka failed to meet the electoral commission, a top ODM official, confirmed the new push for the referendum.
“They ignored about 300,000 of the signatures which we presented to them. Those signatures are genuine and if you add those to the ones they declared genuine, you realise that the referendum dream is still alive,” said Junet Mohammed, the Director of Elections in ODM. On Friday, the CORD principals met at Lilian Towers in Nairobi for about two hours and then left for Anniversary Towers, but on their way they were informed that the IEBC commissioners and senior staff were not in office. Mr Junet told The Standard on Sunday that the principals were out to protest 300,000 “genuine signatures that the electoral commission had rejected.”
READ MORE
Showdown looms after MPs alter key IEBC Bill
MPs owe Kenyans substantive IEBC after two years in limbo
Raila, Kalonzo, Wetang’ula, Junet and Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama and top officials of the Okoa Kenya referendum campaign have now written to the IEBC seeking a date for a meeting.
“They had told us that they will be present, but on our way we were told the chairman is in Djibouti observing elections; that the others were away on retreats and some were attending funerals. So we have asked for a new date,” said Junet.
