Opposition Chief Raila Odinga has maintained that the four electoral commissioners forced out of office must be reinstated ahead of the 2027 polls.
Raila said the commissioners, including indicted Irene Masit, had not done anything against the law but were being vilified for standing with the truth about the 2022 presidential election results.
The Azimio chief insisted that should there be an agreement to institute reforms in the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, the commissioners' reinstatement must precede any talks.
“Those four commissioners must be reinstated with full benefits in a restructured commission,” Raila said.
He, however, said President William Ruto has not shown any goodwill to restructure the IEBC by involving all players.
While Masit was recommended for removal from office by a constitutional tribunal, ex-IEBC vice chairperson Juliana Cherera and commissioners, Justus Nyang'aya and Francis Wanderi resigned.
“We must sit down and talk about the electoral commission as stakeholders,” Raila maintained during an interview with KTN News on Tuesday.
President Ruto had termed the Cherera Four as saboteurs of the country's democracy and insisted that they will be punished in accordance with the law.
The veteran opposition leader argued that there is no way President William Ruto can roll out the recruitment of new commissioners before all players sit down and agree on the reforms.
During the interview, Raila hinted that there could be room for talks with Ruto.
He, however, insisted that the President must first allow the IEBC servers to be scrutinized and the hiring of IEBC commissioners stopped.
