Electoral agency meeting with Nasa, Jubilee put off again

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Chairman Wafula Chebukati (centre) with Commissioner Roselyne Akombe (left) and Vice-Chairperson Consolata Maina at the commission's office at Anniversary Towers in Nairobi on March 24, 2017. The IEBC has cancelled its meeting with Nasa and Jubilee. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • A similar joint meeting also aborted on Tuesday last week after the Jubilee team, led by Deputy President William Ruto, arrived one-and-a-half hours late.

  • Nasa leaders, led by Raila Odinga who had waited for 50 minutes at Anniversary Towers, walked out of the meeting protesting Jubilee leaders’ lateness.

  • The meeting was to bring together the parties in order to agree on some issues that have emerged as far as the preparation of the October 17 repeat presidential poll is concerned.

  • The Opposition has demanded the sacking of commission CEO Ezra Chiloba as well as 10 other officials before the fresh poll.

The electoral commission has rescheduled for the third time a planned meeting with the Nasa and Jubilee leaders.

A similar joint meeting also aborted on Tuesday last week after the Jubilee team, led by Deputy President William Ruto, arrived one-and-a-half hours late.

Nasa leaders, led by Raila Odinga who had waited for 50 minutes at Anniversary Towers, walked out of the meeting protesting Jubilee leaders’ lateness.

While communicating yesterday’s cancellation, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) said it was agreed among the three that the talks be suspended in order to allow the parties to consider issues arising from the detailed judgement by the Supreme Court on the nullification of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s re-election that was delivered on Wednesday.

CONSULTATIVE MEETING

“Following consultations and by consensus, it was agreed that the joint consultative meeting that IEBC, Nasa and Jubilee were to hold this afternoon (yesterday) at Bomas be postponed. The ruling will inform discussions on preparations for fresh poll,” said IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati.

The meeting was to bring together the parties in order to agree on some issues that have emerged as far as the preparation of the October 17 repeat presidential poll is concerned.

Nasa has maintained that it will not participate in the fresh poll until various changes are made in the commission in order to provide a level playing ground for the candidates.

The Opposition has demanded the sacking of commission CEO Ezra Chiloba as well as 10 other officials before the fresh poll.

MASSIVE RIGGING

The team has also demanded the sacking of returning officers implicated in what they allege was massive rigging, and the change of the Dubai-based Al-Ghurair as the printer of the presidential ballot papers.

On Sunday, French firm OT-Morpho submitted to IEBC a six-page report in which it detailed how long it will take to reconfigure the 45,000 kits for the fresh election.

The kits will have to be configured with the names of the top two presidential candidates only after the other six were locked out of the election.

However, President Kenyatta on Tuesday insisted that the fresh election must be held within the 60-day period set out in the Constitution.