Kenyans may elect the President on a separate day from other positions should a proposal by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) get approval. Appearing before the National Dialogue Committee, various stakeholders pushed for speedy reconstitution of the polls body IEBC and an audit of last year’s General Election.
The stakeholders, including LSK, pushed for the audit of the country’s polls in order to correct recurring mistakes that often cause strife post the elections. The lawyers’ body President Eric Theuri said: “We can look at the past (election) that is 2022 and see what lessons we can lean and move forward…or we can say we look at the framework, and I must say the legislative framework needs a little panel beating.”
Mule Musau, ELOG National Coordinator, noted: “We need to always conduct a comprehensive audit after elections. This audit should include activities carried out way before the election date; like party nominations.” With the activities of the Selection Panel on IEBC standing suspended and with no commissioners in office, the dialogue committee sought insight on how the new commissioners should be recruited. LSK opposed the Kenya Kwanza proposal to create the office of official opposition and that of Prime Cabinet Secretary, threatening legal action. The Centre of Multiparty Democracy (CMD) on the other hand backed the proposals saying the opposition leader should at least have 20 per cent of members in Parliament.
Theuri opined: “The office of Prime Cabinet Secretary will brew conflict with the Deputy President’s office…there will be legal repercussions.”
CMD Chairperson Priscilla Nyokabi however stated: “The Prime Cabinet Secretary should be leader of government business and be accountable to Parliament.”
Though the interreligious council proposed that the boundary delimitation role be taken away from IEBC, others felt that the electoral body should retain the role.
