Jubilee must take over reforms of electoral body

My party, the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), has grossly mishandled the push to have a new electoral body in charge of the 2017 elections.

The party knows all too well that resulting to fatigue-ridden street protests against such an important institution such as the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), won't lead us anywhere. IEBC commissioners can only be removed through a legal process. Luckily, my coalition leaders have realised this route won't go far because the public is already feeling fatigued at having to barricade Nairobi's University Way where they can't move an inch due to tight security.

The letter to President Uhuru Kenyatta seeking dialogue is timely. CORD must realise the ruling Jubilee coalition is central in any move to remove IEBC from office. CORD has unknowingly failed to separate whether their war is about removal of individual commissioners or general reform of IEBC as an institution ahead of the polls. So far, their push seems to target individuals.

If today, the sitting commissioners resign, would CORD clap and now say the new guys coming in will ensure a free and fair election? I strongly hold that reforms at IEBC must go beyond sending commissioners home.

It is my view that Jubilee should be the one feeling jittery about the current IEBC commissioners. Former President Kibaki and my party leader, Raila Odinga, had a 50 per cent input in forming the current IEBC. In fact, they jointly appointed the selection panel where Mr Odinga's appointee Dr Ekuru Aukot was made chairman.

Further, Mr Odinga and then Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka's preferred nominees for chairman of IEBC, Mr Isaack Hassan and Ms Koki Muli respectively, came tops in the interviews in 2011.

As it is, Jubilee has no representation at the commission. I submit that the simmering IEBC fiasco is a blessing in disguise for the ruling coalition. Jubilee can take over the reform process at IEBC and ensure it has its rightful share in composition of a new commission.

It does not even need an MP to petition Parliament to remove IEBC. Any Kenyan can do it, only that the power to scrutinise the evidence of the complaint lies with Parliament which passes the petition to the President for action.

Jubilee's involvement in IEBC's exit is critical. The coalition must be wary of the ramifications of the narrative being peddled around that Jubilee and IEBC are lumped into one side and are fighting the CORD onslaught together.

No one is indispensable. What we are protecting as elected leaders would be the application of unorthodox means to send IEBC home which will set a bad precedent for other independent commissions.

Chapter 16 of the Constitution is clear on removal of IEBC commissioners. What I am telling Jubilee is to seize the moment and take the opportunity to have a chance to install an IEBC where they have a stake.

The IEBC Act 2011 says the first IEBC was to be selected jointly by the President and the Prime Minister. Now that we don't have a Prime Minister in 2016, I would think only Parliament can give a way forward on who participates in this selection and to what extent.

As Kenyans, we must see the change in IEBC ahead of 2017 outside the lens of Jubilee and CORD political grandstanding.

It will be a grave mistake to assume all there is about this IEBC saga is the removal of commissioners. There are so many aspects of the commission that can be reviewed for effective handling of the polls. We know some electronic devices failed. The relaying of the votes had to stall at a particular point. And still, we already have casualties of irregular procurement of election gadgets in the name of Chicken-gate scandal.

It is my call for Jubilee coalition to rise to the occasion and spearhead the conclusion of the IEBC matter before political temperatures rise and blur our rationality in having a fair referee in 2017.