The fate of Kenya’s stability every election year depends on all the election players particularly the electoral commission — the referee — and the players, who are the politicians.
While it is expected and understandable for politicians to appear to be reading from completely different books — while in the full glare of the public — it is conditional for the electoral commission to speak in one voice, guided by the law.
This, not only assures the public of a credible process, but also makes the electoral agency impermeable to political overtures. As a result, the public will be able to have remarkable confidence in the electoral process. Unfortunately, IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati seems unlucky in being able to steer a team with such precision.
The first time the IEBC displayed their differences in public was in 2017 during the repeat presidential election. Commissioner Roselyne Akombe was the first person to take off, leaving a resignation letter that was made public way after she was gone.
What followed was a series of interviews and public statements by Akombe that the commission was divided and being run without giving ear to all the voices involved. In a heated drama that saw three more of Chebukati’s first team of commissioners resign, the chairman accused the commissioners of out-voting him concerning major decisions, further making public their inability to reach some common ground. The commissioners, led by former vice chairperson Connie Nkatha, accused Chairman Chebukati of running a one-man show in the commission.
Five years later, the chairman received four new team members to complete his team and be able to conduct a credible election. A few months into their appointment, the commissioners decried being isolated on matters election preparations.
It must have surprised many people to hear the commissioners stating that they had not been notified of the arrival of ballot papers until at the very last hours. In such a case, one would wonder, is there something the commissioners should not have known about, or were they being isolated from the process?
Well, that was quickly swept under the carpet, and the commission appeared to operate in unison, receiving the remaining pallets of ballot papers and other election consignments. The peace lasted through the process but at the point of doing the final presidential vote tally, the centre could no longer hold.
On Monday August 15, just before the announcement by the chairman of the final presidential results, the four new commissioners held a protest press conference, led by vice chairperson Juliana Cherera. Here, they alleged “opaqueness” in the final tallying phase, which made them question the happenings and the reason behind the secrecy. How, could the chairman, who should work together with the six commissioners isolate himself and do the final tally of the results secretly and overrule all the concerns raised by his team, as they claim?
As said earlier, the commission cannot afford to lose the confidence of the public. Naturally, there is a lot of doubt that accompanies secrecy. Much worse, when the matter is of huge a public concern as a general election that keeps millions of citizens glued to their screens and radios eager to hear the outcome.
In a society that is highly charged along political lines, the effects of causing reasonable doubt can be far reaching. Kenyans have known and accepted that politicians can be shamelessly dishonest, knowing no limits, just to attain political power. It is, however, utterly unacceptable for a member of the referees team to exhibit suspicious conduct.
According to the IEBC Act, the mandate of delivering an election lies upon the entire commission, and not just the chairman. The chairman, being the presidential returning officer is mandated to oversee the process, and ensure transparency, credibility and zero opaqueness in the process.
What the chairman does not enjoy, are exclusive powers to arbitrarily kick other commissioners out of the process and run a one-man show. Therefore, going by the claims by the four commissioners that the chairman individually vanished and only reappeared with a fully collated form 34C is not a light subject.
The chairman should not appear to be a titan in the commission, but a team player. A good team player makes a good team leader. In this case, Chebukati ought to have kept his entire team, and all the political party agents and observers, the media and the general public fully abreast of every step of the process, to the final tally, announcement, declaration and certification.
Any concerns by the commissioners or any other party should have been addressed and the public briefed on the resolution. As things stand, the commissioners have cast a cloud of doubt over the final stages of the vote tallying process, and as such, Kenyans deserve a step-by-step account, in a transparent manner, that erases any doubts that may diminish the credibility of the election results.
Mr Chairman, Madam Vice chair and commissioners, you are guided by the law, interpreted to you by a single legal team. None of you enjoys the luxury of holding and bulldozing personal opinion on matters Kenyan elections.
God Bless Kenya.
Mugwang'a is a political commentator
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