As Raila Odinga’s Presidential campaign liaison team from the diaspora, we congratulate the High Court judges Weldon Korir, Aggrey Muchelule and Enoch Chacha Mwita who declared null and void, the law that required presidential election results to be subjected to alterations at the national tallying centre.
The ruling last month shows the respect the judges accord the rule of law, constitutionalism, democracy and fairness in the electoral process.
It should also be remembered that, the tallying of votes at the constituency level will allow Kenyan voters to own the process and witness how their votes are counted rather than leaving the crucial task to the top IEBC officials.
As Raila Odinga’s campaign team in the diaspora-USA, Canada, Asia, Europe and the Gulf States, we could like to acknowledge the UN special rapporteur Maina Kiai, Khelef Khalifa and Tirop Kitur, who challenged the archaic law which left the Presidential election results in mercy of top officials of the IEBC.
We now challenge Mr. Wafula Chebukati, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) boss and his team to come clean on their motives for challenging the ruling made by the 3 judges.
Kenyans are tired of constitutional bodies siding with the Executive instead of acting as neutral bodies to safeguard national interests.
Majority of Kenyans in the diaspora support the 5 NASA, Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka, Moses Wetangula, Isaac Ruto and Musalia Mudavadi for their stand in announcing Presidential election results.
“We want to remind the (IEBC), that the demand by NASA to have the results declared at the 41,000 gazetted polling stations countrywide, as the final results in the Presidential election is in tandem with the law and, any move to alter it will be a travesty to democracy and the spirit of free, fair, credible and verifiable election.” Said Mr. Fred Osewe of the Raila campaign diaspora team based in North Carolina.
Why is the IEBC getting accolades from the Jubilee government after filing an appeal against the court ruling?
We have seen many government operatives like Majority leader Aden Duale openly siding with the IEBC after the appeal. Even President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto have openly shown partisanship in the manner the electoral body is conducting its activities.
“We wonder which interests the IEBC is serving when Kenyans expected the electoral body to portray neutrality in the management of an election. “Kenyans cannot condone any acts of omission or commission that might submerge the country into another post-election fiasco like the one experienced in 2007.” Said Joseph Lister Nyaringo, on behalf of Raila odinga’s diaspora liaison campaign team.
We want to remind Kenyans that, a society which fails to learn from past missteps will never heal or build new structures for improvement… The repercussions of a bungled election are in the public domain.
The relaying of final results from constituencies under the supervision of returning officers, agents, the media, internal and external election observers is the most transparent way of managing an election. Any steps to reverse this will be a tragedy to the country.
In advanced democracies like the USA, votes are tallied at polling centres where the media captures the results as they trickle in. We need to promote this type of system in Kenya because of its authenticity and accuracy.
The system will also ensure that, returning officers, election observers and agents are key in safeguarding and upholding a free and fair election.
One will wonder how Kenyans will trust the IEBC Chairman, Wafula Chebukati’s work at the national tallying centre but fail to trust what happens at the grass roots where the voting takes place.
It’s sad that when a mechanism geared towards safeguarding free and fair election is put in place, resistance from the electoral body and the government hits a crescendo. The jubilee government is trying to use every means to manage the election for a favorable outcome.
We have also noted with concern that besides the IEBC legal imbroglio, the Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaisery, is extremely biased against members of the opposition in the current election season.
The interior CS has in the past threatened NASA leaders with arrests merely because they are critical to the Jubilee government. It must also be remembered that civil servants are supposed to serve all Kenyans with impartiality irrespective of their political leanings.
Secondly, the chairman of the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) Francis ole Kaparo, has also failed the neutrality test. His public pronouncements towards NASA leaders is unfair. Kaparo, often points fingers at opposition leaders; leaving known inciters like honourable Moses Kuria of Jubilee untouched.
Finally, the injunction filed in the court of appeal by the IEBC to reverse the ruling made last month by the high court is totally in bad taste, suspect and with no merit in law and constitutionalism. It infringes upon the rights of Kenyans voters and therefore a conduit to rig the August election 8th Presidential election.
Joseph Lister Nyaringo
New Jersey USA
For Raila Odinga campaign diaspora liaison Team
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