Parliament may be reconvened to debate moving the election date forward, Funyula MP Paul Otuoma has said. He said the delays caused by the reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission could affect the election timelines. Otuoma spoke in Kakamega town yesterday.
“There are clear timelines on preparations of the elections, but we’re yet to start the process. If IEBC commissioners are still negotiating their exit package, then it is going to be difficult for credible polls to be held in August,” he said.
Talks between IEBC commissioners and the government on their pay package on Wednesday ended in a deadlock. They were to have left office by September 30 to pave the way for the appointment of new ones.
The IEBC commissioners, led by chairman Isaack Hassan, said they will only resign on October 4, when the Elections (Amendment) Act takes effect. Earlier attempts by MPs to change the elections date from August 8, 2017, to December failed.
Otuoma said most of the MPs who defected to the Jubilee Party from Cord may escape punishment.
