NASA and Jubilee leaders have met IEBC officials at the Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi, in separate meetings, to iron out pending issues ahead of the repeat polls. Jubilee leaders who met the electoral body officials included Deputy President William Ruto, Majority Leader Aden Duale, Elgeyo Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen, and Jubilee secretary General Raphael Tuju.
Deputy President Ruto while addressing the press after their meeting said Jubilee leaders are satisfied with IEBC preparations, “IEBC has briefed us on the state of their preparedness, we are happy with the preparations that have been put in place. They have already identified all suppliers they need in the process and have trained staff,” he said, adding that they affirmed they’ll pay special attention to the flaws picked out by the Supreme Court to ensure a free, fair elections.
The DP said they haven’t imposed any conditions on IEBC, “We believe in the independence of IEBC as an institution to manage elections deriving their mandate from the constitution,” he said, “We are confident that we have men and women in there who have the capacity and intellect to manage this election.” He revealed that it’s not their responsibility to train IEBC staff, identify suppliers or material required.
However, NASA leaders led by presidential candidate Raila Odinga weren’t satisfied with the outcome of their meeting with IEBC. NASA co-principals were present at the meeting. Addressing the press after their meeting, which was completed moments before Jubilee’s meeting, James Orengo said the demands they made haven’t been met. He said the co-principals left the meeting on the basis of a lack of agreement, adding that the Supreme Court never stipulated a definite date for polls. “We still insist that the demands must be met for the purposes of ensuring the repeat elections will be held in accordance with the constitution and applicable law,” said Orengo.
The Senior Counsel said another meeting will be held, “There will be a meeting later in the day where we hope the Commission will respond substantially to the issues we had raised and we hope the responses will specifically address the issues we raised.”
He reiterated that the anti-IEBC demos will be held on Friday as was earlier indicated by opposition leader Raila Odinga. He pointed out that the demos are part of Kenyans’ constitutional rights, “The right to associate, assemble, picket to hold peaceful demonstrations is in accordance with the law. We inform the diplomatic community that whenever we hold demos it’s in accordance with our rights in the constitution and we’ll continue to enjoy without cohesion or blackmail,” he quipped.