Jubilee criticises IEBC over closed-door meeting with Cord

The TNA party chairman Johnson Sakaja, who said the IEBC was trying to impress certain political parties instead of acting independently. FILE PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

The Jubilee coalition on Monday faulted the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission for holding a closed-door meeting with the Opposition before launching its strategic plan last week.

The coalition said it was wrong for the IEBC to hold secret and selective meetings with political parties instead of bringing parties together.

Addressing journalists at Parliament, TNA party chairman Johnson Sakaja said the IEBC was trying to impress certain political parties instead of acting independently.

He said it was wrong and unfortunate for the electoral agency to be seen to be pleading with unsatisfied parties before launching a strategic plan, which he said should be done internally without any outsiders’ input.

“We want to ask the IEBC to stop pandering to the whims of political parties. It is not a representative of Cord or Jubilee. The referee does not ask the players to say what rules they want. It must stop partisan engagement as much as they can. We have seen them engaging parties privately. If they must meet them they should met them together,” said Mr Sakaja, who spoke on behalf of the coalition.

Mr Sakaja defended the electoral agency’s strategic plan, which has been bitterly contested by the Opposition, led by Mr Raila Odinga, saying it was not necessary for the IEBC to ask for political parties’ input.

NO NEED FOR VALIDATION
“Mr Odinga has been talking and saying the strategic plan is not valid because their wishes have not been included. (The) IEBC is an independent institution and a strategic plan is an internal document on how to prosecute their mandate. There is no need for validation by any political party,” said the TNA nominated MP.

He was accompanied by three Jubilee MPs who also faulted the IEBC for acting like a weak institution.

“The opposition has kept asking for a change in the referee but will we keep doing that until they win the elections. They can continue making noise as we continue getting ready for the next elections,” said Kipipiri MP Samuel Gichigi (TNA).

On Sunday, Mr Odinga challenged the IEBC’s plan, saying the parties had not been consulted before it's launch and it was therefore null and void.

Speaking to NTV, he said it was wrong for such a critical institution not to reach out to key players when developing a document that will affect them.

“We were not consulted and it is wrong for (the) IEBC to come up with a document such as this without the input of key participants,” said Mr Odinga.

Mr Sakaja was also accompanied by Dagoretti South MP Dennis Waweru (TNA) and Tetu MP Ndung’u Gethenji (TNA) who also pressed upon the IEBC to act independently and stop begging for the Opposition’s support.

The IEBC launched the controversial plan last week but the Opposition snubbed the launch that was graced by National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi.