Committee turns away Chebukati as perceived bad blood in IEBC rekindled

?MPs Thursday turned away the election agency chairman and blocked him from presenting proposals on election law amendments.

MP’s Joint Select Committee, which has been collecting public views on election law amendments, demanded that Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati appears before it accompanied by his colleagues.

They expressed fear that Mr Chebukati might present his own views and not those of the commission.

Chebukati left and returned for the hearings around 9.30pm accompanied by vice chair Consolata Maina, commissioners Roselyne Akombe, Boya Molu, Prof Yakub Guliye, and CEO Ezra Chiloba.

The commissioners read in turns a document that had been prepared jointly by the commission on Wednesday.

Earlier, the legislators cited sharp divisions among the poll officials that saw some commissioners overruling Chebukati on a number of issues as part of the reason for turning away the electoral boss.

The discord within IEBC was evident yesterday when Chebukati presented a cover letter to the committee that was inconsistent with the attached documents that had been prepared by the commission following their meeting on Wednesday.

Opposed changes

Sources within the commission confided that the letter was crafted by the chairman, and that it was on the basis of the letter that the other commissioners declined to accompany him to the meeting with MPs.

In the document prepared by the commission, the poll officials are in agreement with six of the proposed amendments except two.

One of the proposed changes they are opposed to is the removal of requirements that one must be qualified to be a Supreme Court Judge to chair the IEBC. The commission says elections are managed through a complex web of legal procedures that require the head of the institution to be competent in law.

The other is a proposal to reduce the commission’s quorum to three commissioners from the current five. IEBC wants the quorum set at simple majority of 4.

In the cover letter, however, Chebukati is against most of the amendments, saying they will cause major confusions to poll officials who have since been trained under the current legal framework ahead of the October 26 fresh presidential elections.

“The effects of the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2017 as proposed will effect electoral process in a material way considering that the commission has developed its training materials, trained considerable number of its returning officers and reviewed and ordered for print training materials based on the existing law,” Chebukati said in the letter.

He went on: “In addition, the amendments as proposed seek to introduce new terminologies hitherto unknown to election management. While the intention to amend some of the provisions of the Elections Act, 2011 are deserving and perhaps necessary the Bill as currently crafted will occasion more confusion than it seeks to resolve.”

The letter adds that it is the commission’s consideration that the only amendments which are necessary are those relating to laws which have been declared unconstitutional and those which seek to correct and clarify the law with respect to the results declaration process and management.

At 5pm, the committee directed Chebukati to return with other commissioners, declaring that they would not admit the documents that were not signed by other commissioners.

“The decision of the commission cannot be made by one individual. It is important to hear the views of the other commissioners because looking at the scenario and mistrust in the country and at the commission it would only be right that we hear from the whole commission,” said the committee’s co-chair Fatuma Dulo.

Reports indicated that the IEBC chairman was set to return at 8pm with other commissioners. Other reports indicated that two of the commissioners were out of town.

In defence, Chebukati said his colleagues were in the field putting things in place for the repeat elections.

No mischief

“There is no mischief as alleged by some members for my being here alone. The commission had a plenary meeting and the document that came from the meeting passed through the commission’s legal department for refining,” he said.

“If it is the feeling of this committee that the commissioners must be here you can adjourn to organise for the other commissioners to appear before you. We also have the minutes of the meeting which we can provide,” he added.

While addressing the media just after walking out of the hearings venue, the IEBC boss insisted the existing laws were sufficient to allow a re-run of credible polls.

At the same time, most of the institutions that presented their views opposed the changes.

Inter-Religious Council of Kenya, said changing the laws would plunge the country into more political turmoil.

[email protected]