Jubilee wants IEBC to hold joint meetings with parties

From left: National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale, President Uhuru Kenyatta’s chief agent Davis Chirchir, former Ainabkoi MP Samwel Chepkong’a and Jubilee Party secretary-general Raphael Tuju at IEBC offices at Anniversary Towers in Nairobi on September 7, 2017. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • The Nasa team had been scheduled to meet the IEBC at 8am but did not show up.

  • Instead, it asked for more time to respond to a letter from Mr Chebukati before another meeting could be scheduled.

  • The IEBC chairman also promised weekly briefings with the presidential candidates, and different weekly engagements with the civil society and religious leaders.

President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party on Thursday demanded that the electoral agency hold joint meetings with political outfits, and not as separate entities.

The team had been invited to a 4.30pm meeting but walked out of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Wafula Chebukati’s office minutes later, saying they could not discuss anything without representatives from the National Super Alliance (Nasa) that is led by Mr Raila Odinga.

“We have nothing to hide. We want the IEBC to hold these meetings with us when Nasa officials are present, and the agenda of the meetings sent to us beforehand,” said National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale.

He was accompanied by Jubilee Party secretary-general Raphael Tuju, Tharaka-Nithi Senator Kithure Kindiki, President Kenyatta’s chief agent Davis Chirchir and former Ainabkoi MP Samwel Chepkong’a.

EXTENSIVE AUDIT

The Nasa team had been scheduled to meet the IEBC at 8am but did not show up. Instead, it asked for more time to respond to a letter from Mr Chebukati before another meeting could be scheduled.

This comes as the IEBC said it plans to carry out an extensive audit of the servers used in the August 8 poll, whose presidential election results were annulled by the Supreme Court.

“I have taken your proposals in the context of technology and will review them. I also intend to carry out a full audit of the servers guided by the previous orders of the Supreme Court,” Mr Chebukati said in a letter to Nasa co-principal Musalia Mudavadi.

He went on: “The process will be transparent, with international experts and representatives from the Jubilee Party and Nasa.”

In the letters written to Mr Mudavadi and Mr Tuju in response to correspondence they had sent to the IEBC boss, Mr Chebukati rubbished attempts by the Jubilee Party and Nasa to demand changes to a proposed team to run the October 17 repeat presidential election, describing the calls as an affront to the commission’s independence.

CONSTITUTION

“Please, note that the commission is an independent constitutional body, which, as per Article 249 of the Constitution, shall not be subject to direction or control by any person or authority,” Mr Chebukati said in his letters.

“It is, therefore, unacceptable for you to provide a list of staff that you direct us not to consider for the project team.”

The chairman also promised weekly briefings with the presidential candidates, and different weekly engagements with the civil society and religious leaders.

“I have decided to embed two ICT experts from Jubilee and Nasa in my project team,” said Mr Chebukati.