Trade unions ask IEBC to call off election over security
IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati. Trade unions have asked him to call off the repeat presidential election and seek the Supreme Court's guidance on conducting free, fair and credible polls. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The umbrella trade union group asked IEBC chairman to ask Wafula Chebukati to seek the Supreme Court's guidance to enable the commission to prepare a free and fair election.
A group of trade unions and civil society organisations has asked the electoral commission to call of the repeat presidential election scheduled for October 26.
In a press briefing in Nairobi on Monday, Kenya Medical Practitioners and Dentists Union (KMPDU) Chairman Ouma Oluga said the country is bleeding and there is evidence of communities arming themselves for war.
SAFETY
"We fear for the safety and lives of election staff who will manage the polling stations and voters who may turn up, should the election go ahead," he said.
The group has also asked Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati to seek the guidance of the Supreme Court to enable the institution to prepare a free and fair election.
They said the printing of ballot boxes does not allow the country to go into a manipulated election.
SECURITY
They asked security forces to uphold the constitutional right to freedom of assembly and cease acts of brutality.
The group, under the umbrella ‘We the people’, said security officers deployed to demonstrations demanding reforms have caused scores of death and injuries.
Putting off the October 26 will not result in a constitutional crisis, they said.
Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET) Nairobi branch executive secretary Moses Mbora said the IEBC cannot deliver a free, fair and credible election on Thursday.
