New polls team to be in office by end of September

A new seven-member electoral commission to supervise the next elections is expected to be in office by the end of next month.

The recommendation was one of the last-minute issues to be agreed on by the joint parliamentary committee on electoral reforms on Tuesday.

The current Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission will leave office before September 30.

The joint team had risked its work being thrown out of Parliament after National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi warned that he will reject its report if they went beyond the 30-day deadline they had.

Senators James Orengo (Siaya) and Kiraitu Murungi (Meru), who co-chaired the committee, breathed a sigh of relief as they briefed journalists at the Windsor Golf and Country Club of the final deal of what had been protracted negotiations on electoral reforms.

“It was a spirit of cordiality and candidness in our work as brothers and that is why we are able to address you as a joint team,” said Mr Orengo.

Mr Murungi said the differences between the lawmakers from the two rival sides ebbed away with time, paving the way for the select committee to agree on the issues which appeared impossible at the beginning.

“We can say this is making the impossible possible. At the beginning we were not sure whether we will get there. But with time we have become friends, good colleagues and workmates. We became comrades to make this possible and we can say we have a deal on IEBC to ensure the 2017 elections are indeed free and fair,” he said.

TAKING DIFFERENT POSITIONS

Uncertainty surrounded the work of the committee with Jubilee and Cord sides taking different positions of the number of new commissioners, their terms of service and whether the country should go to the next polls with a new voters’ register.

Speaking in turns, Mr Orengo and Mr Murungi said they had agreed on a seven-member team who will serve on full-time basis.

“On the question of the commission itself and the size, we have agreed to reduce the numbers to seven. The Constitution says a minimum of three and a maximum of nine with the current IEBC Act saying nine and serve on full time basis,” said Mr Orengo.

(READ: Give parties poll agency slots: ODM)

The Meru senator explained that a nine-member panel, drawing members from the Parliamentary Select Commission, and the clergy will be formed immediately after the adoption of the report to start the recruitment of the commissioners.

“It will comprise four persons being two men and two women appointed by the Parliamentary Service Commission, one by the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops, one by the National Council of Churches of Kenya, One by the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya, one by Supreme Council of Muslims of Kenya, National Muslim Leaders Forum, Council of Islamic Preachers of Kenya and Ulamaa, and one person by Hindu Council of Kenya,” he said. The PSC will provide secretarial services to the recruitment panel.

VACATE BY SEPTEMBER

Mr Murungi said the current team which had wanted to leave office by early November, will be required to vacate office before the end of next month to allow new commissioners to be in office by September 30.

“In the light of the fast approaching date on next elections, we agreed that the process of appointing new commissioner be made expeditious so that new commissioners are in office by September 30, not later than that date,” he said. Future appointments, he said will start six month before expiry.

The 14-member team, which has been sitting at the Windsor Hotel, agreed to amend the IEBC Act to confine the new commissioners to the roles of strategy, policy, policy direction and oversight while the secretariat, which will be strengthened, carry out the day-to-day functions of the commission.

“There should be roles of commissioners and secretariat set clearly and will be born out by the Bill,” said Mr Orengo.

The team agreed that nominations of all political parties for the next elections be carried out by the new team and in the process inserted clauses which will end the problem of party hopping. All political parties will be required to publish names of members 14 days to the nominations.