Allowing IEBC to freely prepare will ensure poll is free and fair

Any Kenyan who values and respects the tenets of democracy and who would wish to see that the August 8 General Election is free, fair and peaceful must be very worried.

Worried because in one day, everything seems set and the next day, something crops up and the election seems like it could be postponed.

The Constitution is clear on the August 8 date.

Any attempt to make this not to happen will not only be unconstitutional, but could also throw the country into an unprecedented legal quagmire.

COURT SESSIONS

Voters are being treated to a poll circus by interested parties, who seem unprepared for the August poll.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is now splitting its limited time between attending court sessions and attempts to beat strict deadlines on the preparations.

The commissioners have found themselves battling administrative matters publicly with the key players in the election yet in essence, this should be a preserve of the secretariat.

In such a high-octane political competition, one would understand why the Opposition is keen on every aspect of the IEBC preparations.

FREE AND FAIR POLLS

They have lost in elections in the past in a manner they have made their supporters believe was not free and fair.

Less than two months before the elections, I would expect the Opposition to be extremely busy working out winning formulae in key swing vote areas as they retreat to their backyards to consolidate their votes and scheme for higher voter turnout.

But what we are witnessing seems like a plot to delay or perhaps have the election postponed.

Yet, I believe the Opposition has a right to pursue and question anything they feel puts them at a disadvantage against Jubilee or other institutions.

ADMINISTRATIVE

However, so far, the Opposition politicians “have had their way” in the installation of a new team at the IEBC. It cannot be that they now want to influence administrative issues.

From the audit of the voters’ register, to the controversial ballot paper tender, the Opposition is increasingly developing a high appetite for dipping its hands in the administration at the IEBC under the guise of ensuring there is nothing fishy.

This trend must be stopped. Kenyans must protect the IEBC from acting on the whims of any of the political sides.

ACCEPT RESULTS

Agitated by the incessant “points of order” raised by the Opposition, President Uhuru Kenyatta has expressed confidence in the manner the IEBC is conducting its affairs and pledged to accept the outcome of the August 7 poll, as he did in 2002, when he lost his presidential bid.

Unfortunately, this situation seems to have pitted the IEBC and Jubilee, on the one side, against the Opposition, on the other.

Yet, in a real democracy, parties to the poll should be pulling together for necessary changes trough the laid-down mechanisms.

The IEBC must defend its independence and and, if possible, demonstrate that some of the issues being raised are just sideshows in a complex game of politics.

ANALYSE MERITS

The Judiciary must critically analyse the merits of the applications before them.

The courts should dispense justice in real time to avoid cases of misuse of civil liberties.

The Judiciary must not be part and parcel of those whose actions could plunge the country into an unprecedented crisis.

CONFIDENCE

I would urge the Judiciary to expedite all applications related to the smooth running of the IEBC calendar so that both the secretariat and the commissioners can retain high confidence levels that what they are doing will be passed as “a free, fair and just” election.

We are a democracy that upholds the rights of the people to decide who will lead them.

So far, no one has presented any iota of evidence which compromises the Kenyans’ wish to vote in whoever they want, for whatever reasons. Kenyans should reject the doomsayers.

Mr Kimaru, a Kenyan political scientist, works for an international NGO in The [email protected]