IIEC deny reports of internal rifts

The Interim Independent Electoral Commission held a hurriedly-convened meeting Thursday to diffuse tension that has threatened to tear it apart.

The meeting came as reports indicated that a section of the commissioners and the secretariat staff boycotted a briefing held for professionals to discuss preparations to hold the next General Election.

The meeting, held at the IIEC offices was attended by Commissioners, Commission Secretary James Oswago and the Directors. IIEC chairman Isaack Hassan was absent from the meeting as he is out of the country.

Speaking after the meeting, commissioner Douglas Mwashigadi denied that there were rifts within IIEC, instead calling it a misunderstanding.

“I want to tell you that there is no rift,” he said.

On Thursday, the Nation broke a story of internal rifts in the electoral team. At the centre of controversy was the fate of the current commissioners and the secretariat once the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is established to replace the IIEC.

The Commission has prepared a draft roadmap for the enactment of laws that make it possible for August 14, 2012, to be the elections day as per the new Constitution.

The draft – which has been submitted to Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo by a section of the commissioners and forwarded to the Office of the President, Prime Minister Raila Odinga and Attorney-General Amos Wako – also indicates that a new commission secretary and support staff will be recruited at the same time.

It is this proposal that has driven a wedge between current commission secretary James Oswago and a section of commissioners among them Ms Winnie Guchu and Mr Davis Chirchir.

In addition, the two commissioners suggested that the next General Election be held in December 2012, instead of August as provided for in the Constitution.

Mr Mwashigadi, however, said the two commissioners – Ms Guchu and Mr Chirchir – were acting on a directive of the Justice minister when they submitted the draft roadmap.

“On Monday there were commissioners who were asked by the minister to prepare a draft document and because there was little time to consult, they did it very fast and took it to the minister at 4 pm,” said Mwashigadi.

In the rush to beat the minister’s deadline, he added, the two inadvertently indicated that a new commission secretary and support staff will be recruited at the same time.

“We have sorted out the misunderstanding and I want say we had a very good meeting,” he said.

A source at the meeting said the two were apologetic. “They apologised to the rest and said they were only expressing an opinion,” the source said.

But questions still abound why Ms Guchu and Mr Chirchir did not see it fit to consult with the rest of the Commission including the Commission Secretary who handles the day-to-day administration and manages the affairs of the Commission.

Mr Mwashigadi also refuted claims that a section of commissioners and secretariat staff boycotted the breakfast meeting with professionals. The meeting at Nairobi Safari Club was addressed by commissioners Guchu and Chirchir.

“The chairman delegated this function to some commissioners before he left within our internal working mechanism. I was not one of them so I did not attend,” he quipped.

During the breakfast meeting that went till late in the morning, the two commissioners apparently presented the controversial paper which contains the roadmap to the 2012 General Election.

IIEC has been rocked by internal rife as it prepares to pave way for the new IEBC. The draft IEBC Bill prepared at a multi-sectoral Naivasha Working Retreat of February 27 to March 1, 2011 provides that only one among the current commissioners will be retained.

The provision has sent shockwaves among commissioners who have now embarked on a plan to lobby MPs to alter it and absorb them all putting them at the risk of being sucked into the 2012 succession politics.