CORD must follow law to eject IEBC from office

CORDS‘s plan to storm the Independent, Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) offices gained momentum when the co-principals convened and addressed a Kamukunji rally, two days before the protest march on Monday.

However, the plan to eject IEBC commissioners from office was thwarted by police who cordoned the Anniversary Towers in Nairobi.

Notably, CORD‘s push for disbandment of IEBC is not a new song and we have heard this chorus ever since they lost the 2013 General Election.

They have since claimed their presidential candidate Raila Odinga had won the election but he was rigged out. This is in spite of the fact that they lost the petition at the Supreme Court because they were not able to prove the allegations.

Consequently, Supreme Court judges upheld the election of UhuRuto.

CORD has also cited three other allegations to demonstrate that IEBC as currently constituted cannot be trusted to conduct the 2017 General Election.

The first one is that the top officials who were implicated in the Chickengate scandal are yet to account for their actions. The other is that the conduct of IEBC during the Kericho senatorial by-election left a lot to be desired.

The coalition also wants Kenyans to believe that the IEBC bungled the OKoa Kenya referendum initiative.

It is worth noting the relevant investigative arms of the Kenya government are handling the issue of Chickengate and so far no evidence has been adduced to link officials directly to the scandal.

In regard to the by-election in Kericho, it is true concerns were raised. However, Kanu which was the main complaint is yet to prove claims that the IEBC rigged the elections in favour of Jubilee candidate.

As for the Okoa Kenya initiative, the IEBC carried out its mandate of verifying the signatures submitted. CORD failed to meet the threshold of one million signatures required to call a referendum.

It is worth noting that the IEBC is a constitutional commission just like the Judicial Service Commission and others and the law stipulates the steps that should be followed in disbanding it.

It is unfortunate to note that some of the opposition leaders, who are now laying the ground for the use of the jungle rule to send the commission home, played a prominent role in the constitution making process. Besides, they would play a vital role in vetting and appointment of current IEBC commissioners.

CORD which has 132 MPs must reconsider its position on this matter and comply with law which requires one of their members to file a petition in Parliament for the removal of the IEBC.

If it sails through, the President will form a tribunal which will probe the allegations raised and then submit their findings to him.

If the officials are found guilty, the President will send them home and a new team constituted.