Baringo Senator Gideon Moi (centre), Barwesa Ward MCA Joseph Maklap (left) and Bartabwa’s Reuben Chepsongol join Kabartonjo Women Dancers during a fundraising at Koimugul Primary School in Baringo North yesterday. Senator Moi said IEBC needs a complete overhaul ahead of the 2017 general election. {PHOTO: KIPSANG JOSEPH/STANDARD]

Kanu National Chairman Gideon Moi has called for an overhaul of the electoral commission ahead of next year’s elections.

Gideon said restructuring the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) was no longer an issue of debate and asked the nine commissioners to vacate office for the sake of the country, saying the commission has suffered a credibility crisis and cannot be trusted to oversee the 2017 general election.

Speaking at Koimugul village in Baringo County, the senator said majority of Kenyans have lost faith in the Issack Hassan-led commission and want a complete overhaul.

This, he said, was the only way to save the country from plunging into chaos.

The Baringo Senator said Kanu wants a peaceful process to resolve the stand-off that has already claimed the lives of three Kenyans.

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“The end results to this chest-thumping among leaders are conflicts, loss of lives and destruction of property. The country is staring at a possible time bomb and we require instant dialogue. This country is bigger and important than any of us,” Gideon said.

The Kanu chairman warned against going to the election with a divided country, saying political conflicts over IEBC have already split Kenya and any move to continue with the current commissioners was a threat to stability.

“As we demand for sanity to prevail, IEBC commissioners must wake up to reality. It is not if they will go, it’s when they will go. The country’s unity and stability is paramount to all of us and the rest is just but hearsay,” he said.

The senator said the bungled Kericho senatorial by-election in which Kanu’s Paul Sang lost to Jubilee’s Aron Cheruiyot was a clear testimony that IEBC had lost credibility and that the “usual” claims of malfunctioning electoral kits do not make any sense.

“Even a child is aware about how our courts dispense justice these days. Anybody telling us to take that route should not be taken seriously. Since I was born, I have never heard of a scenario in which votes counted at the polling centre are altered by the announcer and nothing is done to reverse it,” he said.

Gideon said the country is in need of a neutral referee selected by all stakeholders.

He warned that any move to force the current IEBC commissioners on the country would be dangerous as they had already indicated signs of impartiality and should vacate office to create room for another team to take over. “Kanu is more than willing to work with like-minded individuals like the church to have the electoral body reformed. Kenyans fought in 2007 because of disputed election results announced by a similar commission,” he said.

Gideon, who was the chief guest at a fundraiser in aid of Koimugul Primary School, also called for strengthening of education through establishment of more learning institutions.

He gave a personal contribution of Sh500,000.