IEBC reform talks set to begin

Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) and Jubilee are ready to start talks on how to reform the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), after they agreed on Sunday how to proceed.

Deputy President William Ruto and Cord leader Raila Odinga on Sunday announced separately that the parties had agreed on the way forward and would now begin discussions.

Mr Ruto, who spoke from Turbo in Uasin Gishu, said: “Talks on IEBC will now start in the next two days. We have managed to iron out contentious issues that previously existed.”

Mr Odinga announced that Cord had called off its Monday protests indefinitely to give the negotiating teams an opportunity to proceed, adding that the coalition was hoping that the government side was honest and would have the political will necessary for the talks to proceed without a hitch.

“We had raised concerns on one or two issues. And the other side responded. We feel we can now proceed,” he said on phone.

The Cord team, led by Siaya Senator James Orengo, would address a press conference today to give details of the agreement, he said.

Cord and Jubilee had largely differed on the procedure and scope of the discussions with the government side insisting that talks should be on IEBC commissioners only while Cord wanted a broader agenda.

It is not clear what the broad agenda entails although there has been speculation that Cord might want to include some of the issues it wanted to push through in its failed Okoa Kenya referendum bid.

On IEBC, the Opposition is demanding a total overhaul of the commission, dismissal of all commissioners and employees it deems to be biased.

The Opposition has been holding street protests, which have ended up with stone throwing, looting and violence resulting in the deaths of at least six people at the hands of the police.

Many others, including police officers, have been hurt in the demos called to press for the reforms.

On Sunday, Mr Orengo said a motion to kick-start the talks would be tabled in Parliament from Tuesday.

“There is a possibility that the motion will find its way to parliament any time from tomorrow,” he said.

The process has been structured in such a way that the top Jubilee and Cord leadership will also have a say and control of the final product of the talks.

Said Mr Orengo: “The most controversial issues have been resolved. And as such, we have agreed to call off the Monday protests.”

He said that one of the sticky issues was a mechanism to involve the coalition leadership, which was outside Parliament.

He said Cord would today nominate two more MPs to the proposed committee, which already has Senator Johnson Muthama and MPS Mishi Mboko (Mombasa), Eseli Simiyu (Tongaren), Junet Mohammed (Suna East) and Mr Orengo.

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Mr Odinga said he was ready to host controversial Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria and his Kabete counterpart Ferdinand Waititu for talks at their convenience.

He said he had nothing personal against Mr Kuria and Mr Waititu, who have criticised him regularly.

“I am ready to host and listen to Moses Kuria when he is ready to meet me. There is no reason why I should refuse to have lunch or dinner with him as he requested,” said Mr Odinga.

Last week the Cord leader spoke to Mr Kuria from his Pangani police cells where the MP apologised for his previous statements against him.

Mr Kuria asked for a meeting with Mr Odinga to physically deliver his apology.

The MP was locked up after he gave a speech last week in which he appeared to call for Mr Odinga’s assassination.

“Mr Odinga requested if I could join him for a meal of fish once we are released. I accepted the invitation though with a minor condition — that he assures me that my favourite vegetable, Osuga, will be in plenty, which he committed himself to do. I will hold him to his word,” Mr Kuria wrote in an opinion article published in the Sunday Nation.

Meanwhile, MPs detained by police last week after being accused of engaging in hate-related campaigns now say they are ready to help the country negotiate an agreement on the proposed electoral reforms.

Suna East MP Junet Mohammed, an ally of Mr Odinga, said they had sobered up and would lead in reconciling the two sides.

Mr Mohammed further said that together with Mr Muthama and Mr Kuria, they were willing to give the IEBC talks another perspective to ensure the country’s elections next year are free and fair.

The three have been nominated by their coalitions to represent them in the talks.

“We realised that there is really nothing people can permanently disagree on. We now want to use the privilege to represent our parties to ensure the talks succeed ,” Mr Mohammed said.

Mr Kuria said that while in police cells, the leaders had realised that suspicion defined the relationship between the political leadership and the opposition making it difficult to agree on anything.