Cabinet okays electoral body Bill

The Cabinet has approved two Bills seeking to establish the body that will conduct the next elections and another to determine the salaries of public servants.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission bill and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission bill were approved Tuesday and now await publication before being presented to Parliament for debate and enactment.

By approving the bills to establish the electoral body and the salaries commission, the cabinet appeared to respond to calls by the Commission on the Implementation of the Constitution chaired by Charles Nyachae on the government to ensure the laws touching on the 2012 polls are enacted expeditiously.

In its first quarterly report released last week, the Commission had asked the government and in particular the two principals to ensure that it enacts bills to establish the IEBC by April 15 to enable the body to commence its work. The bills relating to elections and political parties are also urgent and should be concluded by early May to enable IEBC to start planning for elections in goods time, the commission states.

The Commission has also called for the urgent establishment of the Salaries Commission to facilitate the determination of staff remunerations for the various institutions in order to increase their capacity to deliver on their mandates.

A bulletin from the Presidential Press Service (PPS) said that the bill to set up the IEBC proposed a nine-member body with only the chairman and the vice chairman serving on full time basis while the rest will serve in non executive roles.

“The two bills approved today are expected to give a major impetus to the process of implementing the constitution,” the statement read.

The Justice Ministry has played a leading role in coordinating the functions of the various ministries and bodies charged with formulating pieces of legislation required to implement the new constitution.