Pressure mounting on Uhuru not to sign election Bill into law

Pressure is mounting from religious leaders on President Uhuru Kenyatta not to sign the election amendments Bill that were passed by Jubilee MPs on Thursday.

The changes that allow a manual back up in election management were effected during a stormy session in the National Assembly boycotted by Cord.

The religious are calling for a return to the negotiating table between Jubilee and the opposition.

The Evangelical Council of Kenya and the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims joined the Catholic Church bishops on Friday in asking President Kenyatta to “rise above politics” and refuse to assent to the Bill until after negotiations.

The laws will go to the Senate before President Kenyatta’s make-or-break signature.

They seek to allow the electoral commission to use a “complementary alternative” in case the electronic system fails in the August 8, 2017 General Election.

But Cord has said that was a recipe for chaos and election rigging. It has called on its supporters to go to the streets on January 4 to protest what they said was Jubilee’s assault on the will of the people.

On Friday, the Evangelical Council of Kenya said in a statment: “We are asking President Kenyatta to display his magnanimity, by not assenting to the acrimonious amendments, until there is a consensus on the same. This will be in line with the Christmas spirit, which is about peace, joy and good towards all.”

WAS DETRIMENTAL

And like the Catholic bishops before them, the evangelicals said the way the laws were passed in the House was detrimental to the negotiations that birthed the now disputed law.

There were claims of pepper spraying, injured MPs from fist-fights and a House that was cordoned off by heavily-armed police for the two days.

“This political grandstanding, altercation and standoff must be stopped. We call on the government and the opposition to come back to the negotiating table,” the churches said.

In their statement on Thursday evening after the special sitting the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission offered to lead the negotiations, again.

During the National Assembly’s special sitting, the live broadcast was cut off, a journalist arrested and others locked out of the press gallery.

The church had led the walk to bring truce to the two sides after five weeks of deadly and violent street protests when Cord demanded the removal of the Issack Hassan-led nine-member electoral commission.

It also led to the creation of the 14-member bi-partisan joint select committee that created the new laws, which President Kenyatta and Cord leader Raila Odinga agreed will not be changed.

“We urge you, Mr President, not to sign the amendments into laws, and that you give dialogue a chance,” the Bishops said.

‘OUR SUPPORT’

“We assure you of all our support in building a stable, cohesive, democratic and prosperous Kenyan society.”

 Supkem Deputy Secretary General Hassan ole Naado on Thursday said that the amendments could lead to another round of violence, akin to the 2007/2008 post-election violence chaos that left 1,133 dead and over 650,000 displaced.

“The president should rise above partisan interests by rejecting those amendments. Laws that come into place through negotiated processes cannot be brought back by one side and changed the way it happened in Parliament,” Mr Naado said in Narok.

Kanu also said it will join the January demonstrations if no agreement is reached.

“We will not sit back and watch as the government reverses electoral reforms,” party Secretary General Nick Salat said in a text message to the Nation.

Meanwhile, Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi on Friday said that “the President ought to know no power is more potent than a determined people. The people of Kenya being masters of their own fate must rise up against an increasingly intolerant regime,” Mr Mudavadi said in a statement.

“The track record of this regime is to sign agreements it never intends to keep.

‘BE SWINDLED’

‘‘It doesn’t matter whether they are cheating the teacher or doctor. To Jubilee, everyone should be swindled. To them, the only advantage they seek is how to contravene the Constitution,” said Mr Mudavadi.

He condemned the way the laws were passed, also castigating House Majority Leader Aden Duale for reprimanding High Court Judge George Odunga.

“That the President has no respect for the Constitution is confirmed by the President ceding the moral high ground for which he was elected as the symbol of national unity to propagating chaos. It is now obvious that Uhuru is setting the ground for a rigged and violent election that will give him an excuse to retain power,” he said.

Jubilee and Cord brigades on Friday held on to their hardline stances, each saying that their positions were backed by reason and international practice.

Mr Raphael Tuju, the head of the Jubilee secretariat and his Cord counterpart Norman Magayu differ sharply in commentaries on the issue. They both give the same examples from African countries but with different intepretations. (See opposite page)

Reporting by Patrick Lang’at, George Sayagie and Justus Ochieng.