The General Election is drawing closer with every passing day, and the serenity is slowly fading, which is normal prior to any general election in any nation. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) have found themselves right in the middle of the action, and this has definitely increased scrutiny towards the electoral body. This week has witnessed emerging issues that have set the focus on the electoral body in regard to the transparency and veracity in handling the elections.
Opposition party NASA revealed plans to set up a parallel tallying centre during the General Elections, and the view literally drew various views, more so, the attention of IEBC. Some may cite that political parties are trying to channel a single eye approach from IEBC, signifying an honest, unbiased handling of the elections. Opposition leader Raila Odinga had outlined that each polling station will have 50 agents from NASA, who will take pictures of results as posted and send them to the NASA tallying centre. Whether it was a possible feat or not varies in different quarters, but still, IEBC were forced to take the stand that it isn’t legal for NASA to carry out that plan. And like previous times, they stood up to disperse any suggestions they didn’t like, just like previous times, when leaders accused them, especially from opposition parties, of being unprepared to take charge of the general elections. “It is the mandate of the IEBC to announce and declare results,” said IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati after a meeting with NASA leaders at the IEBC offices in Nairobi. However, he said that political parties and the media can monitor, tally and verify results for their own internal use, but the role of announcing results and declaration rests with the Electoral Commission.
The IEBC Chair then said political parties can have agents at the polling stations according to the law. It’s already been quoted as a win-win situation between the electoral body and the parties that were keen to set up tallying centres, but the key issue is that IEBC is still centre stage as we head towards the elections. From the time when they were labelled as an unprepared lot when it comes to handling the elections, and that not once but severally, to the present situation, it seems the electoral body is going to be mentioned far often than we can expect. From a certain point of view, it may represent a witty way of keeping IEBC on their toes, but others may see it as a distraction as we move closer to the decisive day in August. Either way, ample space must be given to the Electoral body to discharge their duties.