But Cord wants structured talks to reform the electoral system and has dismissed the parliamentary initiative as a Jubilee scheme to ensure the current commissioners stay
Two bills to reform the electoral system have been published.
If the Constitutional (Amendment) and the IEBC (Amendment) bills are passed, they could resolve the current standoff between Cord and Jubilee over the electoral agency. Jubilee and Cord have maintained hardline positions on the commissioners.
If passed, the Constitutional (Amendment) Bill will extend the period of hearing a presidential election petition from 14 to 30 days. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Bill, among others, aims to have the commissioners serve on part-time basis. But Cord wants structured talks to reform the electoral system and has dismissed the parliamentary initiative as a scheme by Jubilee to ensure the current commissioners conduct the 2017 elections.
The National Assembly Justice and Legal Affairs Committee chairman, Samuel Chepkong’a, said passing the bills will diffuse political tension.
He said the IEBC Bill provides for the formation of a seven-member selection panel approved by Parliament to recruit commissioners. If adopted, it will mark a departure from the current arrangement that gives the President leeway in appointing the commissioners. The majority and minority parties will be required to propose two names each, a man and a woman. The other three people will be recruited through a competitive process by the Public Service Commission and the names shall be sent to the President for approval.
Yesterday, Chepkong’a said the two Bills will be introduced in the House next week. “As a House committee we expect to meet next week to draw an itinerary for county visits,” Chepkong’a said.
He affirmed that his committee will hold joint sessions with that on Constitution Implementation and Oversight.
(+) faults in the electoral system must be fixed
ANC chief Musalia Mudavadi has said IEBC, as currently constituted, cannot deliver fair, transparent, peaceful and credible elections in 2017. He said the IEBC has failed to exercise its broad mandate, and it’s unlikely its leadership can change its obsessively contemptuous mind-set. Mudavadi said for close to a year, he has called for dialogue over electoral review – not just reconstitution of the IEBC - but the fault lines in the country’s electoral system, its infrastructure and architecture.