Stiff penalties sought for rogue poll officials

Election officials who subvert the process of free and fair polls will face tough punishment if amendments proposed by a House committee are passed.

The Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee has proposed that officials found guilty of interfering with elections be sentenced to three years in jail and fined Sh1 million.

The committee has just finished reviewing the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Bill, which seeks to establish the new body to oversee future elections and referenda.

The Bill that was tabled in Parliament by Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo and is headed to the committee stage did not provide for penalties for offences committed by members of the new body.

In addition, the House team chaired by Mandera Central MP Abdikadir Mohamed has proposed that current election officials keep their jobs in the new Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

The committee has also suggested amendments to a clause that proposes that members of the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) automatically vacate office once the new commission is established as provided for in the sixth schedule of the new Constitution.

According to the House team, the amended clause should provide that:

“A person who immediately before the commencement of this Act was an officer of the former Electoral Commission shall, subject to the provisions of the Constitution, this Act and any other relevant law, be an officer of the Commission.”

The amendment, if passed, will provide a lifeline for IIEC commissioners and members of the secretariat whose fate has remained uncertain.

This was as a result of the Bill overlooking a clause in the Constitution, which states that in picking members of the new elections and boundaries body, there should be due regard to continuity.