President Uhuru says No to name-calling in campaigns

President Kenyatta (second left) greets Kwale County Women Rep Zainab Chidzuga (second right) upon arrival at the leadership summit in Kwale at the weekend. Looking on is Kwale County Governor Salim Mvurya. [PHOTO: KELVIN KARANI/STANDARD]

President Uhuru Kenyatta has asked politicians to campaign on issues so that they do not divide Kenyans and increase the the prospects of violence.

Uhuru said Kenya was now a mature democracy and noted that there should be no place for personal attacks when leaders address the public. Closing a summit that created a road map for peaceful elections in Kwale County yesterday, the President led key leaders in signing a pledge for peaceful campaigns prepared by the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA).

Challenged the Opposition

“We should not let this critically important process be marred by irresponsible and destructive language. We have matured in our democracy and electoral violence should not define our politics,” said Uhuru.

He challenged the Opposition — whose leaders snubbed the summit protesting that KEPSA was not a fair arbiter and was partial towards the Jubilee administration — to also commit themselves to peaceful campaigns.

The President said the country‘s economy should not be destabilised by political violence or campaigns that create fear among investors. He noted that over the years, political violence had always led to a decline in growth.

“Whenever peace and security are disrupted the economy stalls, investor confidence is shaken and our people suffer income and job losses,” he said.

President Kenyatta said the country was an attractive destination for  investments owing to reforms in the business sector.

 “I believe we have matured in our democracy; our politics must not be personality-based but issue-based,” he said.

National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi  criticised Opposition leaders for skipping the summit, saying they had signed similar peace  campaign pledges before the 2013 polls. “If it was right to sign these pledges in 2012, then it must be right to do it this year as well,” he said.

IEBC assurance

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chief Executive, Mr Ezra Chiloba, told delegates at the summit that they were consulting on how best the organisation could supervise nominations for political parties while avoiding a  conflict of interests.

He said the law requires that aspirants who  appeal against a nomination process should file their petition with the electoral body. He noted that  it would be difficult for IEBC to determine such an appeal when it was the same group that conducted the primaries.

“We are consulting the Attorney General on how we can navigate this. There are a number of options we are looking at, including if we can form an independent committee within IEBC to handle the primaries,” he said. Mr Chiloba also waded into the contentious issue of diaspora voting, and said it lacks data on Kenyans living abroad to properly manage this process.

Chiloba  said the commission was working with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to get accurate data so that Kenyans who live abroad can vote in the August 2017 polls.

The government, however, said it would enlist diaspora voters in time for them to take part in the polls.