Opposition meets to chart way forward after electoral laws loss

Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka at a Maasai cultural festival in Kajiado West where he threatened to sue Garissa MP Aden Duale over alleged hate speech. [Photos: Peterson Githaiga/Standard]

The Opposition has summoned its members for a meeting at Bomas on Wednesday to decide the next course of action following the passage of new electoral laws.

On the cards, key leaders disclosed, will be a determination on whether to resort to mass action should negotiations with Jubilee on the scrapping of the new laws fail to yield fruit.

CORD, which brings together ODM, Ford-Kenya, Wiper Democratic Movement and Amani National Congress has summoned its governors, senators, MPs and MCAs for the meeting.

Others expected to attend are Kanu, Narc, United Democratic Party (UDM), Chama Cha Uzalendo (CCM), Central Organisation of Trade Unions, political aspirants, the clergy and members of the civil society.

Sources told The Standard the outcome of the meeting will have far-reaching political repercussions.

Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka said the Opposition will use the gathering to discuss matters related to the August 7 General Election.

"What Parliament passed in relation to the new electoral laws is a poisoned chalice. I urge President Uhuru Kenyatta not to assent to the laws but if he does, he will have let the country down," Mr Kalonzo warned.

After the meeting, the former Vice President said they will take a common stand on how to move forward as a team.

"We won't accept elections under the manual system. This is what was used to rig the 2007 and 2013 elections. Our final frontier is mass action. We won't go to the elections until we reach a consensus," he added.

Kanu Secretary General Nick Salat confirmed that members of the independence party will attend the meeting.

"We will attend because our party shares the same ideals with the Opposition. We want to build a country that unites us, not one built on ethnicity and dictatorship," he said.

UDM's Cyrus Jirongo and CCU's Wavinya Ndeti also confirmed they will attend the meeting.

ANC leader Musalia Mudavadi, who has been a key proponent for Opposition unity, said the meeting will help foster unity.

"We are also going to discuss elections in two ways: Means of undoing the Jubilee-amended new electoral laws and the expected new voter registration by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)," he said.

The recently installed Luhya community spokesman read mischief in the way IEBC was preparing for voter registration.

"We doubt whether IEBC is ready for this exercise and whether the commission is fair and transparent. We are aware that IEBC has dispatched few biometric voter registration (BVR) machines to Opposition zones while giving more to Jubilee," Mr Mudavadi said.

He added: "This is discrimination. IEBC has given two BVR machines per ward in Nyanza and Western and five and above per ward in Jubilee areas. What is the rationale for this?"

The former Deputy Prime Minister also took issue with the way the Government was handling the issue of identity cards.

"We are aware of a secret directive from Government to provincial administrators in Central and Rift Valley to make sure that youths with no identity cards are registered and uncollected ones given to owners. But those in Opposition zones aren't releasing uncollected identity cards. This should be a national matter, not a secret," said Mudavadi.

Suna East MP Junet Mohammed (ODM) said they expect to make some important announcements come Wednesday.

"We have invited key stakeholders including the clergy," he added.