Ruto accuses Cord of delaying dialogue on fate of IEBC

Deputy President William Ruto has called on the Opposition to be genuine in their demands for dialogue.

Mr Ruto said the government was keen on holding talks with the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord) coalition but said the other team was not ready to talk.

He said Cord had not yet fully decided on the composition of its team to engage Jubilee in the talks over the fate of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

Mr Ruto was speaking in Chebosi, Webuye West Constituency, on Saturday during the funeral of Jephris Lumonya Wanyama, mother to area MP Dan Wanyama.

He said the Jubilee team was already constituted and was waiting for the team from Cord to be established so that the talks could commence.

“We already have our seven- member team in place and we are ready to hold talks. However, the Cord side have not put their team in place as certain members are unsure if they will participate in the talks or not,” he said.

The Deputy President further stated that the Jubilee administration does not have any hardline position on holding dialogue but insisted that the talks must be done under a proper frame work.

He said the Jubilee wing was following the directions as stipulated in law and asked Cord to respect the law and agree to the terms.

“We cannot hold talks in the bush. We want the talks to be guided by the Constitution and that is why we want it done in Parliament. We cannot have discussions outside the law and thus we have no hardline position,” said Mr Ruto.

He criticised the Opposition for refusing to hold talks constitutionally saying they were involved in the passage and promulgation of the law in 2010 and as such should abide by it.

Mr Ruto further called on the Opposition to stop demonstrations saying it was not an avenue to get change and solve issues.

He said demonstrations were only scaring away investors and also risking the lives of Kenyans who are caught in the middle.

Speaking at the same venue, Bungoma Senator and Cord co-principal Moses Wetang’ula said the the coalition was ready for the talks in order to decide the fate of the polls team.

Mr Wetang’ula stated that they were happy with Jubilee’s willingness to hold talks saying it was a way of having a credible team before the election.

“We appreciate Jubilee for coming down from their hardline stand and agreeing to have a talk with us. We have set up a team that would be in talks to come up with a solution,” he said.