The December date

By Joseph Muchiri

Kenyans are set to vote on Monday, December 17 in their biggest ever-General Election, unless President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga ignore the wishes of Cabinet and the national electoral body.

Cabinet has already agreed on the date, as has Raila whose signature will be needed to dissolve the Grand Coalition Government and end the life of the Tenth Parliament. The PM must consult with the President and reach a compromise, but Kibaki has in the past indicated he favours December polls.

The alternative would be to wait until the life of the current Parliament lapses in March next year.

President Mwai Kibaki and Parliament are left to seal the deal on election date [Photo: File/Standard]

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the body charged with conducting the elections, last week released the revised list of the proposed new constituencies and electoral wards, removing another hurdle on the track to the coming elections, and petitioned the President and PM to dissolve the Coalition in October to pave the way for elections in December.

According to a High Court ruling on January 13, judges Isaac Lenaola, David Majanja and Mumbi Ngugi, sitting as a Constitutional Court, gave two options on the suit on when Kenya should hold elections.

They said the General Election could only be held this year, if Kibaki and Raila agree in writing to dissolve the coalition. The IEBC favours any date in October for the dissolution, as the Constitution is clear that elections must be held within 60 days after Parliament is prorogued.

The other alternative would see Kenya go to the polls in March next year after the Tenth Parliament’s term that ends on January 14.

The incentive for the President and PM to agree on a December date also stems from the fact that the court ruled that even after they end the coalition, they would remain in office until the transition is complete.

First election

The Constitution, endorsed by a referendum in 2010, set Kenya’s presidential and parliamentary elections for the second Tuesday of every fifth year, which translates to August 14, 2012, but this does not necessarily apply to the first election.

The biggest sign yet that the elections would be in December came from minister’s revelations that Cabinet has already taken a decision that it be held in the third Monday of the month, and all that was remaining was formalisation of the date.

Speaking separately, Cabinet ministers Kiraitu Murungi and Dr Noah Wekesa revealed the elections date was no longer an issue because the Cabinet had already agreed on a tentative date.

"We proposed that elections be held on December 17, and I know the President and Prime Minister cannot go against a Cabinet resolution," said Dr Wekesa.

Kiraitu also said the date was agreed on in presence of the two principals, both of whom, he added, endorsed the date. He called on them to announce the date, since Kenyans need to know in advance to enable them plan for it.

"The days when presidents used [the] election date as a secret weapon are long gone," said Kiraitu, adding that President Kibaki should make the date public since he will not be in the race.

Raila also told The Standard in Kwale it was true the issue was discussed in Parliament, but in the end Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo was mandated to draft an amendment to the Constitution to allow for the change of election date.

"It is true, but I cannot discuss the matter until I consult with the President over the election date," said Raila when pressed for more details.

Amend the law

Last December, Mutula took the Bill before Parliament and it is expected to be among the first order of business the MPs tackle when they resume sittings. Mutula has always insisted the two principals cannot change the date, as some political leaders were suggesting, because it was only through amending the Constitution that this can be done.

Last week, Vice-President Kalonzo Musyoka also said at a meeting in Mombasa that it had been agreed elections be held on December 17.

He explained that Cabinet settled on the date because it was the most suitable.

The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill seeks to move the election date for the coming elections only, from the second Tuesday of August, as spelt out in the Constitution, to the third Monday of December (December 17) as proposed by the IEBC and Cabinet.

Apart from the date, the Bill introduces a ‘saving’ clause for the 80 new constituencies to allow them be used in next year’s elections, irrespective of the time they are created. Currently, the new electoral units can only be used if created 12 months before a General Election.

In order to address the two-thirds gender requirement for elective positions, the Bill proposes that both the Senate and National Assembly have special seats to ensure that no more than two-thirds of members are of the same gender.

On Saturday, Manyatta MP Emilio Kathuri and his Siakago counterpart Lenny Kivuti concurred with Kiraitu, saying Kibaki was the right person to announce the date, since he was not interested in vying for the presidency.

Political date

"The election date is political and not a court matter. Let Kibaki guide the nation on the issue and then he can go home honourably," said Kathuri.

Kivuti believes all are in support of the December 17 date, and a refusal by one of the principals would amount to going against the wishes of Kenyans.

"We will be going back to Parliament this week and we will seriously debate the election date," said Kivuti. The MPs spoke in Embu town on Saturday.

Kiraitu, who is also the PNU Secretary General, said the Mount Kenya East region, which encompasses Embu, Mbeere, Tharaka Nithi and Meru, would only support a candidate who vies on a PNU Alliance ticket.