Six main Jubilee target areas as they seek to change how Supreme Court arrives at rulings

According to an article on The Standard, dated 26th September 2017, Page 6, President Uhuru Kenyatta of the Jubilee Party has summoned a Parliamentary Group meeting to discuss amendments to electoral laws, mainly targeting the Supreme Court of Kenya and the electoral commission.

The Party was rocked to the core by the Supreme Court’s decision to nullify presidential elections, leaving members angry, thereby prompting a meeting to have the laws looked at seal all possible loopholes that could have been critical in guaranteeing Uhuru a second term in office.

According to Senator Kipchumba Murkomen and Majority Leader Aden Duale, Jubilee wants the law to be clear on the components of a complementary system.

The paper highlights areas that seem targeted by the party as it seeks to have the laws changed:

Returning Officers (RO) to take results to constituency tallying centres:

Among the proposals is to have Retuning Officers transfer results from the polling stations to the constituency tallying centres for transmission electronically and verification. This should only be done after a presentation in forms 34B.

The Two-Thirds majority decision

Jubilee seeks to have any decision by the IEBC –Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and the SCOK- Supreme Court of Kenya passed by a two-thirds majority. This looks to have resulted from the Supreme Court’s decision to nullify the August 8th presidential results. The Jubilee Party feels Uhuru Kenyatta was denied a win by Supreme Court judges.

Qualifications and powers of IEBC leaders

Jubilee seeks to have any other member of the Commission take up the Chairperson’s role in his/her absence.

Result transmission

Going by Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria’s words, the party plans to have all Presiding Officers (POs) stop relaying results from the polling stations to the national tallying centre. They seek to have them physically move to the constituency tallying centre with the results, tabulate them in the respective forms 34B and verify.

IEBC Chairperson’s roles

Reports suggest that there are arrangements to limit the powers of the Chairperson, spreading some to the vice chair – the argument being one does not have to be a lawyer to be the Chairperson. “It makes sense to have a backup because what happens if the Chairperson resigns in a time like this of falls sick when he is required to declare the winner of a presidential election?“ argued Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria.

Re-introduction of the Green Book

In order for the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS) to be used only for voter identification, Jubilee plans to bring back the Green Book for validation of voters.