Group calls for credible August polls
A group of clergy and elders from Nairobi have called on the electoral commission to move with speed and assure Kenyans that the August 8 polls will be credible, free and fair.
The over 400 clergy and community leaders drawn from all the 85 Wards in Nairobi County said that a lack of credibility might lead to chaos.
“We recognise that the general election itself is facing various challenges. The delays in procurement of essential systems and election-related technologies could result in elections that fail to meet the Constitutional and legislative standards,” said the chair of the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK), Nairobi Regional Coordinating Committee Reverend Julius Wanyoike.
He also asked the electoral agency to allay fears that an audited voters’ register may not be available before election date due to court cases questioning tender award to KPMG.
Mr Wanyoike was speaking on Tuesday at the end of a meeting on strategies to ensure peaceful 2017 elections involving faith leaders from Christian and Muslim communities, councils of elders, women, youth and persons with disabilities drawn from various ethnic communities in Limuru, Kiambu County.
The group also condemned politicians for creating and sponsoring militia groups to unleash violence on opponents.
He said that they will get involved in civic education to create a peaceful environment ahead and after the elections.
