Kanduyi Member of Parliament John Makali, has urged his colleague MPs in the Thirteenth Parliament to pass the bill amending the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to ensure transparent, free, and fair elections.
“Madam Speaker, this particular bill seeks to align the provisions in the ACT with what the courts have said since both the court and ourselves are agents exercising delegated authority to the people of Kenya, the Supreme court indicated that the IEBC has serious institutional and dysfunctional problems we will need to wholesomely look at the entire laws governing our elections so that at the end of elections we don’t have people of Kenya fighting or drawn up in groups because of the verdict of elections.” Makali stated
Speaking in parliament, Makali urged his colleagues to consider the amendments to the bill to ensure that there are no conflicts erupting especially after elections in the country.
“This bill is co-sponsored, we urge members from both sides of the house to support this particular bill. This bill is a product of the NADCO report and views received from the public,” he reiterated
Makali also stated that the amendments will give IEBC Commissioners a period of eighteen months to report on elections to the National Assembly to facilitate the workings of the parliament.
“Madam Speaker also after each and every election the IEBC is supposed to present a report and this report should guide this particular house as to what went wrong and right and what needed to be improved in the conduct of elections. In the amendment it is proposed that the IEBC does a report within a period of eighteen months since the body would have dealt with all the disputes that arise after elections and therefore parliament can consider what legislation should be made in respect of the electoral process,” he recommended
He further added that the CEO of the commission has been given an extension of service from three years to six years to ensure that when they leave, they have overseen the existing elections.
“Of critical importance Madam Speaker is the amendment that seeks to tie the term of the CEO of the Commission who is the secretary to a period of 3 years, Madam Speaker when we sat in the committee where we got representation from the public specifically the office of the Attorney General, the Office of Registration of Parties, the IEBC itself clearly indicated that a period 3 years for a CEO is a short period for them to actualize what is supposed to do in that office, therefore the committee proposes that we extend the period of CEO to a period of 6 years non-renewable reason being we might end up having a CEO who doesn’t conduct any election at all since elections come after 5 years.” He remarked
