Bid to stop signature drive meets resistance

Cord and the electoral commission have opposed a petition by a Member of Parliament seeking to stop the collection of signatures for a referendum.

Cord lawyer Anthony Oluoch said the High Court had no jurisdiction to entertain the petition by Kieni MP Kanini Kega as the orders he sought were unconstitutional.

“The court has no jurisdiction to grant them since it would amount to restricting the rights of millions of Kenyans who are not party to this suit,” said Mr Oluoch.

The electoral commission submitted that Mr Kega’s petition was premature, speculative and meant to usurp its powers.

“The petitioner is asking the court to do what is exclusively reserved for the commission, which is contrary to the doctrine of separation of powers. The court should not interfere with our duties,” said Director of Legal Affairs Praxedes Tororey.

FORMULATE DRAFT BILL FIRST

Ms Tororey said Mr Kega could only attempt to stop the commission from verifying the signatures and receiving a draft referendum Bill from Okoa Kenya as it is only after receiving the documents would it determine whether or not to give the go-ahead for the referendum.

Mr Kega wants to stop Cord from collecting the signatures, saying the coalition has not met the necessary conditions.

He says Cord leaders should first formulate a draft Bill that would give them the mandate to seek one million signatures to support their bid to amend the Constitution.

Mr Paul Mwangi, chairman of the committee of experts under Okoa Kenya initiative, also swore an affidavit against Mr Kega’s petition, saying: “The Constitution has been amended on several occasions by the National Assembly and his contention that our push for change is premature has no basis.”