The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has warned both Jubilee and NASA to keep off matters its staff.
IEBC Chair Wafula Chebukati on Wednesday responded to various demands by both factions regarding deployment of its staff to manage repeat elections slated for October 17.
In letters to Jubilee Secretary-General Raphael Tuju and NASA’s Musalia Mudavadi, Chebukati reiterated IEBC is an independent institution which can make a decision without being coerced by either political divide.
“Please note that the commission is an independent constitutional body, which as per Article 249 of the Constitution shall not be subject to direction or control by any person or authority,” Chebukati noted in a letter addressed to Tuju as according to Daily Nation.
“I welcome your comments that the independence of the IEBC is not negotiable. It is for this reason that I find it unacceptable for you to provide a list of staff that you direct us to “step aside or be suspended,” Chebukatu told Mudavadi.
“It is therefore unacceptable for you to provide a list of staff that you direct us not to consider for the project team.”
Tuju had written to the commission protesting the constitution of a 6-member team to manage the repeat polls.
Tuju said they are partisan. “We have received credible information that in the list, there are people known to be partisan.”
“Given the fact that acts of omission or commission that rendered the [August 8 general] election null and void originated from the IEBC staff, we hereby register our strong objection to the deployment of the above to be in a position to run the process.”
Chebukati had named Marjan Hussein Marjan as the coordinator on the new team. He replaced Ezra Chiloba (CEO).
Others are Salome Oyugi who replaced Praxedes Tororey as the head of legal affairs, Nancy Kariuki replacing Immaculate Kasait (director of election affairs), and Albert Gogo taking over from James Muhati, the ICT head.
Chebukati promised to hold weekly briefings with the two Presidential candidates in sharing the commission’s preparedness to repeat polls.
He also said it is unlikely he will change the 290 returning officers form 290 constituencies noting “given the short period of time before the fresh presidential election, I may not be in a position to train new returning officers across the country.”