IEBC petition ‘no Cord project’

Robert Wafula Buke (L) takes the oath before the start of a Justice and Legal Affairs Committee sitting at County Hall on July 3, 2014. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA

What you need to know:

  • Cord, led by Mr Raila Odinga, has cited the IEBC as one of the reasons for its attacks on the government.
  • Mr Buke’s submission came a day after the IEBC urged the parliamentary committee to dismiss the petition.

A man who petitioned Parliament to disband the electoral commission has denied working for Cord.

Mr Robert Wafula Buke said his petition was motivated by “the incompetence and bias” of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in the run-up to the March 4, 2013 General Election.

Cord, led by Mr Raila Odinga, has cited the IEBC as one of the reasons for its attacks on the government.

Mr Buke on Wednesday submitted evidence to back his allegations of incompetence, gross misconduct and violation of the Constitution by the nine commissioners.

He, however, denied in his submission to the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee that his petition was meant to aid Cord’s agenda.

Mr Buke attempts to show that the IEBC did not compile a voters’ register as required by Article 83 of the Constitution and that the commission declared the final result 16 months after voting.

He seeks to illustrate in his 93-page submission that the IEBC added or subtracted votes in some cases to achieve a desired result, that the commission broke the law by changing already declared results and in many instances, used unofficial documents.

He also says there were many instances where the commission declared a multiplicity of results, citing the Migori gubernatorial election and Kibwezi National Assembly election. He said many of the results were not authenticated by signatures of candidates and party agents.

PETITION 'LACKED FACTS'

Mr Buke’s submission came a day after the IEBC urged the parliamentary committee to dismiss the petition.

IEBC chairman Isaack Hassan and his team told the committee on Tuesday that the petition lacked facts and evidence to support the allegations.

In his response on Wednesday, Mr Buke challenged Parliament to recommend the formation of a tribunal to investigate his claims.

Mr Buke was accompanied by Mr Oduor Ongwen, a statistician who studied the figures.

Mr Ongwen said a closer look at the IEBC report exposed many contradictions and inaccuracies.

He said the commission did not give the number of registered voters nationally, per county, per constituency and per ward.

He said the total registered voters presented by the IEBC on its website was 14,388,781 which, he claimed, differed from the figure it gave in the Supreme Court during the presidential results petition.

The Justice and Legal Affairs committee will sit on Thursday to consider Mr Buke’s submission.