IEBC fails to submit final poll tally

The electoral commission failed to furnish Parliament with the final results of the March 4 General Election Tuesday amid claims that some commissioners refused to sign the report.

The commission was expected to submit the final tally to the Justice and Legal Affairs committee at a meeting scheduled with the team at Parliament Buildings Tuesday. The committee was to relay the report to Parliament.

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission chairman Issack Hassan and chief executive James Oswago appeared before the committee but were turned away after the chairman indicated that the tally was not ready for submission as per the request from Parliament.

“I want to apologise that I don’t have with me the commission’s response to the request for statement by the MP…It is being prepared to be sent to the Clerk and will be ready on Thursday,” he said.

It, however, emerged that the chairman had prepared the tally ready for submission at Tuesday’s meeting but commissioners refused to sign the document.

Parliament cannot accept an unsigned document for validity and ownership purposes.

Dagoretti North MP Simba Arati claimed the commission was not being honest with the parliamentary committee.

“The chairman must tell us the truth because we have information from his office that indeed he has prepared the information requested but his team has refused to sign. He should be very clear on this,” said the MP.

He was ruled out of order by committee chairman Samuel Chepkonga, who said such information could only come from the commission chairman or CEO.

Mr Chepkonga adjourned the meeting to Thursday after Mr Hassan requested for more time to prepare the information requested.

The matter was referred to the committee following a request by Kiminini MP Chris Wamalwa earlier this month.

Mr Wamalwa argued that the results were urgently needed for the computation and subsequent disbursement of funds to political parties as stipulated in the Political Parties Fund Act.

A request for a response was sent to the electoral commission on July 3 through the Clerk of the National Assembly. The Standing Orders require that a response be given within seven days.

The committee chairman said the commission had flouted the rules of Parliament. “We are a House of rules and procedures, the reason why we invited you is because we take our work seriously and we expect you to do the same,” he stated.