Time to have faith in our institutions

Defending the Constitution is not a task exclusively reserved for any one institution. Indeed, in any democracy it is to be expected that every now and then somebody or other will over-reach its authority, powers or mandate and try to force through rules or actions that are unconstitutional. Eternal vigilance is the only cure against this, with other institutions created to provide checks and balances being called in to prevent a constitutional breach. This, we believe, is how Kenyans should view the ongoing furore over the controversial amendments pushed through by Parliament last week.

Numerous petitions have been filed with President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga calling on the Executive to reject proposed changes to electoral laws that go against the letter and spirit of the 2010 Constitution. Church leaders, lawyers, civil society and ordinary wananchi oppose efforts to scrap academic requirements for key elective posts or change the rules to give presidential aspirants a lifeline should voters reject them. Both rules have enormous support from a public concerned at the type of people finding their way into Parliament and power.