Joint sitting of senators, MPs teams over polls
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairperson Isaack Hassan (second right) addresses the media at their offices on May 5, 2016. National Assembly's Justice and Legal Affairs Committee to answer questions of impropriety raised by another watchdog over procurement of Sh4bn biometric voter kits that failed in 2013 General Election. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
The Justice committee is expected to sit with the Senate’s committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights and produce a report within 90 days for consideration by the two Houses.
There are reports that Parliament could be preparing the ground for replacement of the current IEBC team.
A committee of the Senate and another of the National Assembly will hold joint sittings to discuss how to choose commissioners of the electoral commission, among other reforms ahead of the elections.
Justice and Legal Affairs Chairman Samuel Chepkong’a has written to the Speakers of the two Houses seeking approval of the joint sittings to discuss a formula for replacing officials of the Independent and Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
The Justice committee is expected to sit with the Senate’s committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights and produce a report within 90 days for consideration by the two Houses.
“The committee is already seized of the matter of lacunas existing in the legislation related to the process of facilitating the representation of the people,” reads the committee’s letter to the Speakers.
“This includes matters relating to electoral processes, laws, voter registration, voting, resolution of electoral disputes and the process of filling vacancies in the electoral-related institutions.”
Although the committee has not been explicit on the need to put in place such a mechanism, there are reports that Parliament could be preparing the ground for replacement of the current IEBC team, which has suffered low levels of public confidence so close to the next year’s General Election.
The Cord coalition and civil society groups opposed to the IEB team led by chairman Issack Hassan handling the forthcoming elections have called for an inter-parties parliamentary group (IPPG) model where political parties nominate commissioners.
