The country is poised for protests led by National Super Alliance (NASA) leaders at Anniversary Towers, where the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) offices are housed, starting today.
It is not yet clear whether this will assume the form of last year’s ‘every Monday siege’ that the Opposition laid to IEBC offices, ultimately leading to the Isaack Hassan-led commission relinquishing office before their term was up.
The Opposition has made demands on the streamlining of the electoral commission ahead of the October 26 fresh presidential poll that Jubilee is unwilling to go along with.
These include the removal of IEBC CEO Ezra Chiloba and other officers suspected to have bungled the August 8 presidential elections, leading to its nullification by the Supreme Court.
In the eyes of the Opposition, these officers lost their credibility and cannot therefore be trusted with overseeing another election.
On the other hand, based on the Supreme Court ruling that annulled President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election and gave the Opposition so much confidence, the Jubilee Party has drawn up its own list of demands and schemes in what has become a dangerous political game, because the lives of Kenyans and the prosperity of the country are at stake.
The party is drafting a raft of changes to effect to Section 83 of the Elections Act, 2011 and also contemplating ways of whittling down the powers vested in the Supreme Court by the Constitution.
Whatever it takes, warring politicians on both sides of the political divide must ensure that we have an election within the 60 days from September 1, 2017 to avoid what could easily become a constitutional crisis bearing the propensity of tipping the country over the cliff.
Kenyans are weary of endless politicking. People want to return to their normal lives without fear and distractions.
Business is suffering.
In fact, the Treasury has downgraded the growth projections of the economy because output has been undermined.
Investors are staying away because Kenya’s situation by many considerations is deemed unstable.
The seemingly endless politicking has also sowed division and suspicion.
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