Uhuru slowing down recruitment of new polls team - Orengo
From left, electoral commission CEO Ezra Chiloba, chairman Issack Hassan and vice-chairperson Lilian Mahiri-Zaja before the Joint Parliamentary Select Committee on election reforms at Parliament on August 2, 2016. Senator James Orengo has said President Kenyatta had dragged his feet in signing the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- He said the Jubilee administration has been using the Government Printer as an avenue to frustrate changes in legislation.
- Mr Orengo added that Mr Kenyatta is not at the forefront in discussing an exit package for the Issack Hassan-led IEBC team.
Siaya Senator James Orengo has accused President Uhuru Kenyatta of delaying the hiring of new electoral commissioners.
Senator Orengo said the President had dragged his feet in signing the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill and delayed its gazettement.
“Any day lost in the preparations of the second national elections under the new Constitution is an invitation to an electoral crisis and chaos of monstrous proportions,” said Mr Orengo on Monday.
Mr Orengo had, along with his Meru counterpart Kiraitu Murungi, co-chaired a joint parliamentary team that negotiated the exit of the current Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) nine-member team.
He said the Jubilee administration has been using the Government Printer as an avenue to frustrate changes in legislation.
“This will not be the first time that the Printer has been used to frustrate legislation through delay in the publication or by deliberately changing the wording or import of the laws. It would appear that the President has not released to the Government Printer the new legislation for publication.”
He added: “It is instructive to note that the Government Printer falls within the Office of the President.”
Mr Orengo said Mr Kenyatta is not at the forefront in discussing an exit package for the Issack Hassan-led IEBC team. The package is one of the conditions for their departure from office.
It was agreed that the deliberations would start after the signing of the Bill into law.
“The President has not convened the National Treasury, Attorney-General and other relevant agencies to determine the send-off package for the current commissioners," he said.
“Despite the existence of useful precedent in calculating such packages, all has stalled or has been kept in abeyance.”
He said the polls body was in the meantime setting up systems for the 2017 polls, in violation of the new law.
“The new law requires that the procurement and installation of the technology for the polls be done eight months before such elections and the same tested, verified and deployed 60 days before a General Election,” Mr Orengo said.
He called for the regulations to be put to effect immediately.
Edited by Philip Momanyi
