Jubilee team urges Uhuru to sign election Bill into law

A group of professionals allied to Jubilee have urged President Uhuru Kenyatta to immediately sign the contentious elections law passed recently by Parliament.

The Council of Kenyan Professionals (CPK) Tuesday told President Kenyatta to immediately sign into law the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill to create the necessary peaceful environment for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to conduct of a credible, free and fair election.

Chairman Ababu Namwamba, in a statement read on his behalf by Prof Peter Kagwanja, said signing of the Bill into law would insulate the results of the poll from the risk of another annulment.

He said another annulment might throw the country into deeper uncertainty.

REPEAT POLL

The professionals under the umbrella Kura Yako Haki Yako, said the repeat election should go on as planned and asked the National Super Alliance Coalition (Nasa) and other forces to immediately halt attacks on the IEBC and its staff.

“We urge the opposition to respect the principle of competitive elections as the cornerstone of democracy and the only guarantee for democratic peace and stability,” he said.

Prof Kagwanja said all concerned parties should abide with the Constitution.

VIOLENCE

The lobby group has urged enforcement authorities including the Judiciary and police to take stern and prompt measures to bring perpetrators of violence to book.

“All Kenyans have a right to vote freely without threat of violence,” he said.

Prof Kagwanja said this even as he revealed that they have already started collecting information on opposition leaders calling for violence.

He said the council had sent a delegation led by Mr Namwamba and former MP Danson Mungatana to Adis Ababa to meet members of the African Union and IGAD to discuss issues related to the Kenyan repeat election.

RIGHT TO VOTE

Bishop Jackson Kosgei said Kenyans should be given the right to vote and no politician should intimidate them.

Former Nyeri Woman Rep Priscilla Nyokabi said the right to vote is enshrined in the Constitution.

“Let us not allow anyone to take away our right to vote. We want to confirm who our leader is. We can only choose our head of State through an election,” she said.

Nominated Jubilee MP Jennifer Shamalla said attacks on envoys for supporting that repeat election is unfortunate.

“The amendment of the election law is [meant] to rectify the electoral mess,” she said.

The council asked Nasa leaders to approach the courts and stop street protests.