IEBC top official retires ahead of repeat presidential election on October 26

Wafula Chebukati with Ezra Chiloba (Photo: Courtesy)

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs has offered to retire days to the repeat presidential election slated for October 26.

Praxedes Tororey, has offered to withdraw two days after the Supreme Court indicted the commission for bungling the August 8 General Election.

She was among senior officials that the National Super Alliance (NASA) has been pushing to be removed.

IEBC changed the fresh election date from October 17 to 26, to ensure the new poll conforms to the law and election regulations as ordered by the Supreme Court.

“There is no doubt that the judgment impacts the election operations and in particular technology to be deployed,” IEBC stated on Thursday pledging to issue further details today (Friday).

The Supreme Court ordered the electoral body to put in place a complementary system for the repeat poll in compliance with Section 44A of the Elections Act.

According to Chief Justice David Maraga, the court could not ignore the guidelines on the use of technology in the transmission of results as anchored in law.

Maraga also noted that the court found that no reasonable explanation as to why not all Forms 34B had security features.

“It was obvious to us that IEBC misunderstood the petition and therefore jumbled its responses. IEBC should do some soul searching and go back to the drawing board.

“As judges, we have taken an oath of fidelity to the Constitution. For what is the need of having a Constitution if it is not respected?” asked Maraga on Wednesday issuing a detailed judgement on the bungled August election.

The court, however, pointed out that it did not find any evidence incriminating any of the IEBC officials.

“No evidence was placed before us to prove that electoral offences were committed by officials of IEBC. What we saw in evidence was a systematic institutional problem and we were unable to find specific fingerprints of individuals who may have played a role in the commission of irregularities,” he ruled.

“We are therefore unable to impute any criminal intent or culpability on either the IEBC Chairman or any other Commissioner or member of IEBC,” the CJ added.