IIEC, parties to form team to draft guidelines

By Beauttah Omanga

Political parties and the Interim Independent Electoral Commission will form a liaison committee to end indiscipline.

The IIEC Chairman Ahmed Issack Hassan will lead the committee that will comprise senior parties’ officials.

The team will to come up with fresh rules and guidelines that all parties must abide by or face stiff penalties.

"We want to have order in our parties and that will be done through the dialogue forum of political parties. Each party must nominate an official whose presence will be binding to the party," said Gichugu MP Martha Karua.

The IIEC chairman said the team would also come up with other amendments to be included in a new code of conduct for parties.

The decision was arrived at a consultative meeting with party officials at a Nairobi hotel.

The leaders challenged IIEC to suspend all its other activities and demand for funds to conduct a countrywide voter registration.

Former MPs Jimmy Angwenyi and Kalembe Ndile called for a valid voters’ register.

Ndile, the former Kibwezi MP, said the impasse over prosecution of post-election violence suspects could lead to a snap election.

"Chances are that majority of our leaders will end up at the International Criminal Court at The Hague. We should prepare for early elections through a fresh voter registration," he said.

The IIEC chairman said the exercise would be conducted soon after the commission employs sufficient staff.

Voter registration

The issue came up again two week ago during a similar meeting organised by IIEC.

The leaders demanded the review of IIEC Act to give the electoral body more powers to penalise election offenders.

" The defunct ECK kept on complaining of lacking powers to act. The current team will find itself helpless if elections were called," warned John Koech of United Democratic Movement.

Lawyer Kamotho Waiganjo accused political parties of deliberately engaging in what he termed "election fraud".

At the moment, he said, party nominations are mockery of democracy as powerful individuals pick who gets the certificate.

Registrar of Political Parties Lucy Ndung’u said she would enforce set rules and warned of dire consequences against any party that breaks them.

"The Political Parties Act will be implemented to the letter," she said.

She said only 47 political parties were officially registered.