Abandon IEBC files, new agency late

First Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has asked those who filed complaints against the constitution of the IEBC selection committee to drop the lawsuits to allow the country to get new leadership for the electoral agency.

The reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has become a hot potato with parties involved shifting blame even as the 2027 general elections draw closer by the day.

Speaking on Monday, the Chief SC said some politicians were using the judiciary to frustrate efforts to reconstitute the Election Commission, citing malice as the driving force.

“The majority of leaders and Kenyans are in favor of a new commission led by President Ruto and Raila agree, but there are a few leaders who are determined to see the country without an electoral body, their decision is motivated by malice “, Mudavadi said.

He spoke during the launch of the Digital Hub and Digital Economy Conference on Information and Communication Technology at Kakamega County Polytechnic.

The First CS said there was multi-sectoral and political agreement on the reconstruction of the IEBC and any attempt to stop the process using the courts was wrong.

He called on executives who had approached the court using what he claimed were proxies to drop the charges and allow the stalled IEBC reconstitution process to proceed as originally planned.

“Apart from the by-elections, it is also necessary for the country to start revising the borders before the elections,” Mudavadi said.

Last week, Supreme Court Justice Isaac Lenaola criticized Parliament for prioritizing the enactment and passage of politically correct legislation over more important issues such as the reconstitution of the IEBC.

He said time was running out and with just three years to go until the next general elections, the commission was yet to be constituted and he wondered when it would prepare for the elections if it was constituted too close to the elections.

“I don’t understand why we are busy passing laws very quickly on other politically important issues, but we are not looking at what is extremely important to this country,” he said.

Lenaola was speaking at the regional conference on the use of AI, digital and social media in Kenya’s elections on Thursday.

“For example the Electoral Commission, how can a country like ours stand if we don’t have an electoral commission? The elections take place in 2027, it is 2024, when will this commission be prepared? he asked.

The judge directly pointed the finger at the Azimio coalition for blocking the process by haggling in court over who should be its representative on the IEBC selection panel.

National Liberal Party leader Augustus Kyalo Muli won the election to represent Azimio on the IEBC selection panel, but the party’s Wiper wing The opposition coalition requested that lawyer Koki Muli be appointed as representative.

Azimio’s 23 constituent parties took part in the election facilitated by the Political Party Liaison Committee and supervised by the IEBC, with Kyalo emerging victorious with 16 votes to lawyer Koki’s 7.

Wiper, however, refused to endorse his election, demanding that Koki take the position, a position that prompted Kyalo to go to court.

“I won squarely and fairly. I received a certificate. I am the only one who has a certificate, so no one else has the authority to say that he is selected in the selection board,” » Kyalo said during a morning show on Citizen TV.

He vowed to defend his position, saying no one has ever challenged his election.

“Why is the IEBC not reconstituted? Because Azimio cannot name his representative to the panel. Is it something to take a country hostage for two years? » asked Judge Lenaola.

In the meantime, Mudavadi called on leaders to work hard and implement their programs during the period remaining until the next elections, noting that the electorate will make choices in the poll based on the remaining 24 months.

“We have already completed two years and there are two more years left before the electorate takes the final decision; no leader should waste time on unnecessary bickering and meaningless politics,” Mudavadi said.

He said the Kenya Kwanza government was on the right track in trying to improve the livelihoods of Kenyans and the country’s economy.

The Prime CS said the government had moved 22,000 government services online and indicated that it would consider taking police recruitment online.

“In the spirit of transparency, we will launch the first stage of police recruitment through a digital platform to eliminate middlemen who were making money through the recruitment process,” he said.

Mudavadi said digitally making incident logs (OBs) at police stations to eliminate the possibility of people tearing out complaint pages was a solution. also in preparation.

“We want to fully embrace online services on all fronts to ensure that we simplify the way people work, but also to eliminate corruption by reducing administrative interactions,” Mudavadi said.