Debate on polls date healthy

Debate on the next General Election date has over the past year produced various suggestions on the suitability of August or December.

In the past, the constitutional vacuum meant the elections date was used as the President’s “secret weapon” to the advantage of his political party.

This uncertainty was supposed to have been cleared away in the 2010 Constitution, which set the date as the second Tuesday of August every fifth year.

Those supporting the August date argue against unnecessary amendments to the Constitution. There are also concerns that since the terms of the nine commissioners of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission end in November 2017, it will be impossible for a new team to conduct a credible election in December.

Those in favour of a December date say it is convenient to avoid disrupting the school calendar and would allow voters to travel to their preferred centres to cast their ballots.

A recent opinion poll shows most of those sampled prefer a December date.

This debate is healthy in a country where elections, a key pillar of democracy, have often been a source of conflict.

We hope enough public participation will be allowed to strengthen a Bill currently before the National Assembly to change the voting date.