Opposition reacts angrily to Uhuru's approval of changes to electoral law

Siaya Senator James Orengo (centre) and other Cord members at Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi on January 9, 2017. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Opposition politicians are opposed to the changes, saying their leaders, some who are outside Parliament, should have been consulted. They have also accused Jubilee of misusing its numerical strength in the Legislature to push through its agenda.
  • Some of their leaders have threatened to hold street demonstrations to force the annulling of the changes, which were signed into law by the President on Monday before he left for an official visit to India.

The Opposition on Tuesday reacted angrily to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s approval of changes to election laws which provide for a backup system for identifying voters and transmitting results, in case the electronic one fails.

Cord-allied senators accused the President of abdicating his role as the symbol of the nation and engaging in partisan politics.

But the move was supported by groups that support Jubilee, including leaders of the Akorino sect.

The Opposition politicians are opposed to the changes, saying their leaders, some who are outside Parliament, should have been consulted. They have also accused Jubilee of misusing its numerical strength in the Legislature to push through its agenda.

Some of their leaders have threatened to hold street demonstrations to force the annulling of the changes, which were signed into law by the President on Monday before he left for an official visit to India.

The Cord senators, who addressed a news conference in Parliament on Tuesday, accused the President of intolerance to divergent views.

They said the President as a symbol of national unity should not be driven by party interests but the good of the country.

“The President should have paused to listen to the divergent views with an aim of striking a compromise where everybody emerges as a winner,” said Sen Mutula Kilonzo of Makueni.

Senate minority Leader Moses Wetang’ula said the recommendations by the governors, religious leaders, business community and civil society were ignored.

'WERE WRONG'

“Three quarters of those who presented their views said provisions in the Bill were wrong,” he said, and accused some Jubilee lawmakers of being mere voting machines who didn’t interrogate issues before voting.

Cord is particularly concerned with a provision that introduces a complementary system for voter identification and transmission of results in the event the electronic system fails, saying it’s prone to varied interpretations.

“Let us not miss the point. The issue is that this complementary mechanism must be clearly defined to make sense,” Mr Kilonzo said.

But Senate Majority Leader Kithure Kindiki dismissed Cord as “cry babies”, saying they must learn to accept decisions arrived at through institutions of democracy.

“Our friends in the opposition must stop threatening Kenyans with violence every time they do not get their way,” Prof Kindiki said.

“To intimidate ordinary Kenyans and investors with violent protests for political gain is an archaic, selfish and unpatriotic act, which has no place in modern democratic societies,” he said, adding that the law was supported by 26 counties against 10 who opposed it in the Senate. He said voting was the ultimate way to make a decision, when consensus fails.

The national umbrella body of the Akorino sect praised the President for assenting to the amendments.

Addressing journalists in Nairobi, the Conference of Akorino Churches Assembly secretary-general, Bishop Abraham Macharia, said the law would ensure that elections are credible, adding that no machine was 100 per cent efficient and there must be a fallback system in case the electronic system fails.

POLITICAL INTERESTS

He urged politicians to stop using the electoral laws issue to fuel ethnic tensions that threatened to take the country back to the dark days, while at the same time advancing their own political interests instead of broader national unity.

Political analysts, Prof Macharia Munene and Mr Martin Oloo, separately said voting was the only way to seal the fate of the disputed election laws after the senators failed to agree on the contentious clauses through consensus.

They said legislators have a constitutional duty to make laws and they could not be pushed to uphold what other players said unless they reached a compromise.

 “Consultations and advice only enhance your thinking but ultimately you have to make a decision. The Senate as a whole behaved maturely except for one or two senators,” Prof Munene said.

Mr Oloo said the voting was partisan and that those accusing the lawmakers of voting along political lines were missing the point.

 

Reported by Dennis Odunga, Brian Moseti, Faith Nyamai and Collins Omulo.