Kindiki roots for talks to end electoral commissioners selection impasse

DP Kithure Kindiki is received by political leaders from Kakamega County led by Governor Fernandes Barasa and area MP Emmanuel Wangwe during a church service at Chebuyusi Friends.[Benjamin Sakwa, Standard]

Deputy President Professor Kithure Kindiki has called for talks to end the legal impasse over the reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

 Kindiki said the process to appoint IEBC commissioners was stopped by a case against the composition of the selection panel.

 Speaking on Sunday during a church service at Chebuyusi in Navakholo constituency, Kakamega County, the DP said the out-of-court talks would unlock the impasse.

 “The reason why we have no IEBC commissioners is because some Kenyans went to court and obtained an injunction. We are asking the parties involved to try and reach an out-of-court settlement so that we unlock that process and complete the reconstitution of IEBC as soon as possible,” said Kindiki.

 The Deputy President assured the public that the government respects the rule of law and would not act in defiance of the court order.

 “This is a country governed by the rule of law. When there is an injunction, the government is not able to do anything and we are urging them to go to court and have an out-of-court settlement so that the injunction can be lifted and we can move towards reconstituting Ieb so that the people of Kenya can have political stability and the by-elections that are pending can be concluded very soon,” said Kindiki.

 Kindiki also urged the political parties to have a common ground on the names that are supposed to be forwarded for the reconstitution of IEBC.

 “We also want to urge those political parties who have not agreed on who their representatives would be to go on and agree as soon as possible and stop the blame games so that we can have a new IEBC hopefully by the end of this year or next month because it is not for a country with a vibrant democracy to lack an IEBC in place,” said Kindiki.

 Kindiki urged religious leaders to respect the government stating that the government depends on the religious leader’s advice to the church, maintaining that they will continue supporting the churches.

 Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa also weighed in on the delay in reconstituting the IEBC, echoing DP Kindiki's sentiments.

 Barasa expressed his support for the government's position, stating that the delay was a direct result of a court injunction that had halted the recruitment of new commissioners.

 "Our leaders led by President William Ruto and Raila Odinga have shown goodwill and statesmanship in forming the IEBC to strengthen democracy according to the constitution to actualize the by-elections we have and to prepare for the 2027 general election,” said Barasa.

 He added, “My call to our leader is to support our leaders in forming the IEBC and we want to tell our DP to be free to traverse the Western region for the benefit of development.”

 Kakamega Deputy Governor Ayub Savula urged the people of the Western region to be in government to benefit in terms of development.

 “We cannot get development when we are in opposition, we must support and work with the government and we want to thank the new DP for showing leadership and statesmanship because in less than two months you have traversed the entire region helping the President Ruto’s development agenda and we want you not to follow the footsteps of your predecessor who used to advocate the interest of one region,” said Savula.

 Member of Parliament led by Navakholo MP Emmanuel Wangwe, Ikolomani Bernard Shinali, Malava Malulu Injendi, Khwisero Aseka Miradi, and MCAs led by Joel Okwako urged the DP to fastrack the completion of a development project in the region.

 Kindiki's remarks came amid growing concerns about the delay in filling vacant positions at the electoral commission, a process crucial for the smooth conduct of future elections in Kenya.

 The calls intensified after Supreme Court judge Isaac Lenaola raised concerns on Thursday about why the country was lacking a fully constituted IEBC, yet other aspects of governance were moving on swiftly.

 “I don’t understand why we are busy passing legislation very quickly on other subjects that are politically important but we don’t look at what is extremely important for this country,” Lenaola said.

 “For example, the Electoral Commission, how can a country like ours stand on her feet if we do not have an electoral commission? Elections are in 2027, this is 2024, when will this commission be prepared?” he posed.