We may cede ground on poll, says Kalonzo

The National Super Alliance (NASA) presidential running mate Kalonzo Musyoka has offered to help break the impasse between his team and IEBC if the Chief Executive officer Ezra Chiloba and his secretariat are removed.

He also wants Jubilee to shelve the amendments to the election laws before NASA can participate in the polls.

Kalonzo made the remarks on a day of high drama when demonstrations were held in Nairobi, Kisumu and Homabay and property and vehicles destroyed.

In an exclusive interview with Saturday Standard, the former Vice President said he was ready to persuade his Opposition colleagues to participate in the election if the two demands were adequately addressed.

“If Chebukati sacks Chiloba today and President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy drop their mischievous Election Laws Amendment Bill currently executed on their behalf in Parliament, I will request Raila that we teach Jubilee a lesson in the repeat polls,” Kalonzo said.

He exuded confidence that in a free, fair and credible elections they would defeat Kenyatta and Ruto by a big margin in the October 26th election.

“This fellows (Kenyatta and Ruto) are easy to beat in a credible poll. They can go on buying people at State House but we will floor them, let us have a level playing field and we will humiliate them, Kenyans are tired with them,” he said.

Kalonzo’s position, which he said is personal is a climb down for the Opposition’s initial hardline stance which had eleven irreducible minimum demands they needed met before they could participate in the repeat poll occasioned by the Supreme Court nullification of the August 8th presidential election.

NASA has called for the removal of Chiloba (Commission Secretary and CEO); Betty Nyabuto – Deputy Commission Secretary (Operations); James Muhati, Director ICT; Immaculate Kassait, Director Voter Registration and Elections Operations; Praxedes Tororey, Director Legal and Public Affairs, who has since retired and Moses Kipkogey, Manager Legal Department and Advisor to the CEO.

IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati said they have already addressed the issues raised by NASA through the appointment of a team that will handle the elections and which does not include Chiloba and other officers NASA fingered.

Yesterday, it emerged that the Chairman had again reconstituted the Elections Project Team by replacing three officials (see separate story page 6) after NASA rejected some of the people appointed over a month ago.

It comes a week after Raila also told Anglican Church of Kenya bishops to urge Jubilee to drop the elections laws amendment before they could negotiate on the demands.

Kalonzo claimed that it was actually Jubilee that was not keen on the election and this could be proven by the road blocks that they were putting in the way to thwart free and fair elections.

“When you withdraw the security of a presidential candidate and his deputy during the campaign period and introduce malicious amendments to election laws, this clearly shows that they are trying to frustrate the election process,” he observed.

The Constitution, in article 138 (8b) provides for the security matter and the former vice president wondered why they left them with only two officers.

“A presidential election shall be cancelled and a new election held if...a candidate for election as President or Deputy President dies on or before the scheduled election date; or .. a candidate who would have been entitled to be declared elected as President, dies before being declared elected as President,” reads the law in part.

“The situation is such that Kenyatta and Ruto must pray for us that no one is hurt, because there will be no elections, in essence we are joined together in brotherhood and therefore it will be in their interest that instead of reducing they would have increased our security,” he said.

Two weeks ago, the Government withdrew Raila and Kalonzo’s security after the acting Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i accused them of misusing the police officers by involving them in street protests and in the harassment of State officers constitutionally in office.

Dr Matiang’i said: “Why should we give you 20 police officers to loiter from press conference to press conference, from hotel to hotel, when they are needed elsewhere?”

The former VP cited intimidation from Jubilee including the directive by Director of Public Prosecutions Keriako Tobiko giving police 21 days to investigate the NASA leaders over their remarks that there would be no elections on October 26.

“Such threats easily harden our positions that the field is not level to participate in the polls, they add no value, you cannot intimidate Raila and it is futile, it is defeatist,” Kalonzo said. In his letter, Tobiko had written that “such investigations be completed and the resultant investigation files be submitted to this office within 21 days for perusal and appropriate directions.”

The former VP said they would agree to the involvement of OT Morpho and Al Ghurair as long as the secretariat which facilitated the printing of fake ballot papers without security is out of the commission.

On election laws amendments, the NASA co-principal said the motive was malicious and meant to cheapen the presidential elections. “If they pass the laws and Kenyatta assents to them, we will go to court immediately.”

He said this would affect the elections date, a clear prove that their competitors were scared to participate on a free and fair election and had resorted to introducing unconstitutional and cheap laws to win an election. “This is cowardice on their part,” the former VP said.

Klaonzo said Jubilee continues to commit election offences by treating their supporters at State House and wondered why IEBC was not acting.

“Kenyatta and Ruto are hosting supporters every day at State House using State resources to feed and pay the delegations, clearly that is an overt election malpractice that IEBC should not condone,” he said.

He indicated that Raila and him would not participate in the demonstrations because they were candidates in the repeat polls but insisted that the same would continue until their demands are met.

Kalonzo dismissed claims that they were not participating in the protests because their security was withdrawn.

“Our supporters are our security, we feel safe when we mingle with them,” he noted.

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