National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has taken a neutral position in Jubilee’s push to amend Electoral Law.
On Wednesday, the Speaker said he comment on whether the changes to the law are good or bad.
“The Speaker of the House has no vote. So it doesn’t matter what my views about those proposed amendments are,” he told the Star uring the National Assembly induction of members of the chairman’s panel in Mombasa.
He added that as far as he is concerned, he approved the amendments because “they are in compliance with the constitution, the law and standing orders.”
Speaker Muturi said his work is limited to facilitating legislators who make proposal to amend or repeal the law.
Jubilee is pushing for radical changes in the IEBC Act, Electoral Law and Elections Offences Act.
The changes will give more backing to manually transmitted results over the electronic transmitted results in case discrepancies emerge.
Further, they seek to introduce a new law that will allow the poll agency vice chair announce Presidential results in case the Chairman is absent or resigns.
In the event that the two are absent, then, commissioners can elect one of their own as long the quorum is three and above.
Other changes include change of requirements for one to be appointed as the Chairperson of IEBC.
Under the current law, for one to be appointed as the chairperson, he/she must have practiced law for the last 15 years and capable of being a Supreme Court Judge.
But in the proposed changes, one can be appointed Chairperson as long as they have a degree in Public Finance, Public management or law and with 15 years work experience.
By Pharis Kinyua. He’s an online Journalist and an author for Jamhuri News.