Foreign envoys issue fresh warning to politicians ahead of October 17 polls

Foreign envoys have asked politicians to stop interfering with the Judiciary and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

In a joint statement, 12 ambassadors and high commissioners have warned that the credibility of the repeat presidential poll will suffer unless the IEBC and the Judiciary are left to do their work independently.

“Kenya’s highest court delivered a powerful statement about the rule of law and the independence of the Judiciary. The separation of powers is an integral part of a successful democracy,” they said.

The Supreme Court ruling, they said, was a call for everyone, including the international community, to find out better ways to make Kenya’s electoral processes better.

“The Constitution is clear, as was the Supreme Court; the IEBC will have primary responsibility for executing a free, fair and credible election,” they said.

Robert Godec (US), Nic Hailey (UK), Jutta Frasch (Germany), Kim Ramoneda (France), Metter Knudsen (Denmark), Victor Conrad (Norway), Sara Hradecky (Canada) and Frans Makken (Netherlands) signed the statement.

They distanced themselves from claims that the international community failed in its oversight role in the elections because observers were too quick to give the polls a thumbs up despite claims of irregularities by the Opposition.