Cabinet sets timelines for 2012 polls

The Cabinet has drawn up a strict timetable to ensure that the country goes to the polls in December 2012.

In a Cabinet paper that has been declassified so that it is shared with the public, the Executive has set out clear deadlines for the formation of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the creation of 80 new constituencies and the voters’ register.

The deadlines also cover the appointment of the Registrar of Political Parties and the disbursement of funds to cater for the 2012 General Election.

Any breach of the timelines will result in the elections being held on a date later than December 2012, the Cabinet warns. (Read: Cabinet plots to woo Kenyans for December poll)

But even as the Cabinet burns the midnight oil trying to convince Kenyans about the merits of holding the elections in December and not August 2012, it is likely to meet resistance from the civil society, religious groups and even a section of the political class.

The chairman of the Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC), Mr Abdikadir Mohammed, cautioned against frequent amendments to the Constitution.

“The CIOC has not taken a position on this matter yet but my own opinion is that the problem with the election date is that of interpretation. I am opposed to the culture of amending the Constitution. This Constitution is sacred and we should treat it as such,” he said.

The Cabinet has lined up meetings with various stakeholders to lobby them into supporting the December 2012 date.

The first of such meetings, a retreat bringing together the ministries of Justice and Gender and MPs at a Mombasa hotel, ought to have taken place last week. It was not immediately clear why it did not take place.

Today, the two ministries are expected to engage the CIOC on the matter before engaging professional bodies and trade unions on the matter between November 10 and November 20, reads a timetable of events drawn up by the Cabinet.

The first review of the 80 new boundaries must be completed by the end of March next year.

The Cabinet sets August 1, 2012 as the last date for the gazettement of the new constituencies to pave way for the commencement of voter education.

The Registrar of Political Parties must be in office by February 6 next year. IEBC must ensure that the public is through with inspecting the voters’ register by July 27 next year.