Kibaki: Court ruled polls in 2013
President Kibaki addresses leaders from Nyeri county at Sagana State Lodge, Nyeri March 9, 2012. He said the General Election will held this year easing anxiety among Kenyans. JOSEPH KANYI
Kenyans were left confused as to the exact date of the next General Election after President Kibaki sent mixed signals Friday.
The President took to the podium twice during a meeting with Nyeri County leaders at the Sagana State Lodge.
In the first instance, the President said those who want to seek elective posts should prepare for the ballot this year.
"Tutachanguana baa....mwisho wa mwaka huu. The New Year. Mwaka ujao. Sindio?" he had said in Kiswahili.
But the Head of State later stood up to say he had been misquoted.
The President said he could not alter a court's ruling even if he wished to do so.
"It is important to restate that the court ruled the elections will be held in 2013. I cannot change the date because this is the court's decision."
President Kibaki is on the final year of his second term.
A Constitutional Court ruling in January to interpret the date of the first elections under the new Constitution placed the ball squarely in President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga's court.
Justices Isaac Lenaola, David Majanja and Mumbi Ngugi, in their landmark ruling, said the General Election can only be held in 2012 if President Kibaki and Mr Odinga agree, in writing, to dissolve the Grand Coalition Government.
This would be within 60 days after the principals agree to terminate the National Accord that holds the coalition parties, PNU and ODM, together.
The other option would see Kenya go to the polls in 2013 after the expiry of the Tenth Parliament. This would be within 60 days after the House first sat on January 15, 2008.
The judges also ruled that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will be the body to determine the exact date.
The Constitution envisages that elections be held on the second Tuesday every fifth year, which translates to August 14, 2012.
The three-judge bench gave its judgment on two cases which were filed separately but were heard together because they all sought to have the court’s interpretation on the right date of the polls.
When the dispute over the date of the next General Election was argued before the three judges in December last year, parties in the petition proposed three different dates.
Whereas Attorney General Githu Muigai rooted for December, Kilome MP Harun Mwau proposed March 2013 while lawyer Mugambi Imanyara, Prof Lawrence Gumbe and Martin Gitonga submitted that the elections should be held in August 2012.The The Commission on the Implementation of the Commission (CIC) also supported the August date
Last week, IEBC chairperson Ahmed Isaack Hassan urged the President and the PM to give Kenyans an elections date, which would also allow it to set out a timetable to ensure credible and transparent polls.
President Kibaki's announcement came on the day when US Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Wendy Sherman called on the government to set the date as soon as possible to allow the IEBC turn their attention to equally important electoral matters.
“The date should be set as soon as possible so that the timelines for the issuance of ID cards, registration (of voters) and other mechanics of holding a successful election be put in place in good time,” she said at a news conference at the Serena Hotel, Nairobi.
