CORD roots for deal in push for new commission to manage 2017 elections

CORD leader Raila Odinga

CORD’s push to have the electoral body disbanded has been accompanied by proposals for a more inclusive approach in setting up a new team to manage the 2017 elections.

The Opposition is adamant that the country should not go into the next elections with the Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) as currently constituted, and has in recent days embarked on protests to eject the commissioners from office.

Talk of a return to a deal similar to the 1997 Inter Party Parliamentary Group (IPPG) reforms has been rife in some quarters, amid calls for minimum reforms to ensure credibility of the 2017 elections.

The IPPG deal was the result of a sustained clamour by the Opposition ahead of the 1997 General Election to level the playing field for all political players by adopting minimum reforms. The then Opposition argued that members of the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) were largely presidential appointees and could not be trusted to be objective in their management of the poll.

Gentleman's agreement

The 1997 deal would see the country allow political parties to jointly nominate an additional 10 members to the ECK. The deal was largely viewed as a ‘gentleman’s agreement’, and would in subsequent elections be abandoned altogether.

So is an IPPG kind of deal the way to go?

“I would support this kind of arrangement (IPPG) to reform the country’s electoral process,” says Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (EISA) Country director Felix Odhiambo.

Acknowledging the need for minimum reforms to facilitate credibility of the 2017 elections, Odhiambo says this must be expanded beyond the key players, Jubilee and CORD.

“Besides the political players it must include a multi-sectoral group that comprises the clergy and civil society groups,” he says.

Odhiambo argues that the 1997 IPPG deal helped shape perceptions of a credible poll in 2002 as well as the 2005 referendum, then conducted by the ECK.

The deal gave political parties the mandate to appoint commissioners, based on a ratio that recognised a party’s parliamentary strength. This, according to those that support adoption of a similar process, lessens suspicion among the political players and reduces chances of disputes of the elections outcome by the losers. The 1997 elections, which Kanu won, also political parties like the Democratic Party of Kenya (DP), National Development Party (NDP), Ford Kenya (Ford-K) and Social Democratic Party(SDP).

Gabriel Mukele, a former vice chair of the ECK,  says a proposal to adopt an IPPG-like deal is worth considering.

“Under the circumstances, IEBC would have representation of at least the top political parties as happens in places like the US where representatives from the Democratic and Republican parties sit on the election board. Perhaps if we had a similar arrangement where we have CORD and Jubilee represented and the commission’s chairman going through the normal channels of selection, we would have fewer claims of bias,” he says.

Mukele takes issue with the current electoral body for doing little to address electoral malpractices in the Kericho and Malindi by-elections held earlier this year.

“It is the perception of the commission’s inaction on such matters that helps fuel the thinking that it cannot be trusted to conduct a fair poll,” he says.

According to Mukele, there should be more meetings between IEBC and political parties to make the latter feel more included in the electoral process.

Phoebe Asiyo, a former member of the defunct Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC),  calls for more inclusivity in managing the electoral process.

“It is true the 1997 IPPG deal worked at the time but it also had its challenges,” she says.

The former MP and Maendeleo Ya Wanawake leader is wary of leaving CORD and Jubilee as the main political players in proposing persons to sit on the electoral body should such a deal be adopted.

“It should be an all-inclusive process that encourages dialogue among religious groups, civil society, political parties, women movement and others so that each sector feels included in the process,” she says.

Lawyer Harun Ndubi says the IPPG deal was unique because it was reached as a compromise to defuse the clamour for change at the time. Ndubi is opposed to a return to a similar deal which he says would contravene Article 88 of the Constitution.

 Political office

The Constitution bars persons that have held political office or vied for a seat at the National or County Assembly, or have been members of a political party’s governing body in the preceding five years, from seeking position of IEBC commissioner. This, says Ndubi, is further testament to why the commission is a ‘no-go zone’ for politicians.

“We have a new Constitution now that spells out how to set up a new IEBC. One of the key requirements is that it should be independent and impartial. If we let political parties have a say in who gets appointed then we will have a commission that would be pandering to the interests of politicians. Having an IPPG kind of deal would mean the independence aspect of the commission is compromised,” he says.

Mr Gitobu Imanyara, a former MP for Imenti Central, says an IPPG kind of deal would be the best option for the country at this time given the political climate.

“It's indisputable that IEBC cannot conduct a credible poll. But then we need a third party, besides CORD and Jubilee, that is not in politics to bring the two sides together for dialogue,” he says,  but adds that not all commissioners in the IEBC should leave.

He says arguments that those who want the IEBC reconstituted should follow the law are invalid.

“If IEBC itself is violating the Constitution why would you compel those who want it out to follow the law?” he asks.