Raila wants Uhuru to consult him when he appoints new IEBC team

CORD leader Raila Odinga (in red jacket) speaks to the press after he received the report on electoral reforms from the Joint Select Committee at Intercontinental Hotel on August 17, 2016. He welcomed the report and urged parliament to adopt it. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Mr Odinga said his coalition will agree with most of the recommendations on electoral reforms.
  • The report by the committee of members from the National Assembly and the Senate is set to be tabled in Parliament.
  • The Cord leader said the toughest stage has already passed and he expects a smoother recruitment.

The Opposition wants President Uhuru Kenyatta to have no role in the appointment of electoral commissioners.

And if he should appoint, then he ought to consult with opposition leader Raila Odinga to ensure confidence in the new team, Mr Odinga said on Wednesday.

Reacting to the final report by the Joint Parliamentary Select Committee on electoral reforms, Mr Odinga said his coalition will agree with most of the recommendations, except on how new commissioners of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission are selected.

“I, for example, would have not liked the President participating in the nomination of commissioners because he is a player like myself (sic). I have asked them to see if it can be revisited so that, like in the last Act, which said that the ‘President in consultation with the Prime Minister’...shall consult and submit the names,” the Cord leader told reporters at Intercontinental Hotel in Nairobi after his team presented the report to him.

Mr Odinga was Prime Minister in the Government of National Unity, headed by retired President Mwai Kibaki. In that government, there was a provision requiring consultations between the two leaders before the final shortlist of commissioners was sent to Parliament for approval.

“I am hoping that President Uhuru will see the need to consult with us because he is a player so that we get a commission that we all have confidence in,” he said.

Mr Odinga was referring to the proposal by the committee to have nine commissioners selected by a panel to be created, after which the President will select seven to form the new electoral team.

The report by the committee of members from the National Assembly and the Senate is set to be tabled in Parliament with recommendations that will see the current commission overhauled and a new team formed by September 30.

Mr Odinga and Mr Kenyatta are not in coalition and therefore the clause is out of date, but Mr Odinga argues all participants to the elections should be given a role in the nomination of the referee.

Generally, Cord said they agreed with the recommendations of the report which they argued was a result of a give-and-take with Jubilee.

“Our side has given in quite substantially in the interest of peace and unity of our country. There are areas where we would have probably had some grandstanding which could have probably broken the deal…but in the interest of time and nation, compromises have been reached,” Mr Odinga said.

He added: “Apart from that, we think that we can live with this. We really hope that Jubilee will also equally critically deliver on their side.”

Once the report is endorsed by Parliament, a panel will be formed from the Parliamentary Service Commission and the clergy to start recruiting the new commissioners.

The Cord leader said the toughest stage has already passed and he expects a smoother recruitment.

“Just picking individuals for elections is no big issue. We are not talking about a very difficult mathematical calculus. This is a matter of advertising and picking and there are many eminent qualified Kenyans who will apply within two weeks and then be interviewed in one week,” he said.