By James Waindi
Uncertainty has once again hit the much
awaited national football elections after the Interim Independent Electoral
Commission (IIEC) threatened to pull out of the exercise if their conditions
are not met by Tuesday.
The exercise was at first expected to be
held in April, but has been shelved a number of times, at one time even
overruling the ministerial deadline of September 10.
According to a statement posted by the
Commission’s Chief Executive Officer James Oswago on the IIEC website on Sunday,
the Commissions’ demands should be met before Tuesday lest they withdraw from
the exercise.
The Commission is demanding a credible
voter’s register from the Independent Electoral Board (IEB), a list of voting
stations from the sub branches, branches to the national tallying centre and
that IEB vet and present only candidates who meet certain criteria.
“The integrity and leadership requirements
in the current constitution had to be met. It would be inconceivable for the
commission to preside over an election in which one of the parties has, for
example, an un-discharged corruption related case,” said Oswago.
Strict
timelines
“Any election must be planned and executed
on strict timelines. The commission’s technical team, the best in this
business, has set several time lines, all of which have been breached by
nonconformity by the other parties concerned. This cannot continue ad
infinitum,” he observed.
He added: “The minimal conditions we are
setting remain basic for a credible process. We wish therefore to say in public
what we have said in private: unless the above conditions are met by October 4,
2011, this commission shall immediately withdraw the offer or commitment to
conduct the elections.”
Right
parties
When reached for comment, the Chief
Executive Officer of the Fifa appointed Independent Electoral Board (IEB) Peter
Ogonji said IIEC demands did not lie in their mandate and said the Government and
Fifa were the right parties to respond to the Commission’s deadline.
“I would not want to comment on the
Commission’s deadline because issues of finances and time frame are not in our
mandate. The Government and Fifa are best placed to respond to that,” said
Ogonji.
IIEC demands a down payment of Sh20,799,400
for exercise and yet IEB has only managed to raise Sh16,710, 000.
“To date, Sh16,710,000 has been secured for
a severely constrained budget of Sh20,799,400. IEB has had all sorts of
spokespersons; and they are not the most coherent or consistent on any given
issue.
The Commission is now concerned that it
risks suffering disrepute and loss of public confidence were it to continue
engaging in this process,” Oswago said.
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He added: “We recognise the tremendous
goodwill on the part of all players, particularly Fifa, to have the process
concluded in the most credible manner. We acknowledge that the ministry
concerned has looked for and secured some funding from both public and private
sources. And we are greatly honoured by those football loving Kenyans who have
confidence in our capability to discharge this assignment with great
distinction.”