Kenyans protests against Electoral Commission membership continue
June 6, 2016 (NAIROBI) – Protests against the membership of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) have continued into the second month throughout Kenya, including in the capital, Nairobi.
IEBC, a body appointed by President Uhuru Kenyatta, is tasked to organize the upcoming Kenya elections in August 2017, about 15 months from now.
However, the main rival parties, the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD), a coalition of multiple political parties, under the overall leadership of Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka, and Moses Wetangula, has organized the protest, accusing appointed members of IEBC of corruption and lack of integrity.
As reported by the Kenya’s Citizen TV, Monday’s protest in Nairobi city center was different from what has been experienced in the past weeks, with CORD leaders and their supporters marching from Uhuru Park through Kenyatta Avenue and Moi Avenue to Anniversary Towers then back to Uhuru Park without making stops or public addresses.
Previous attempts to march through the city center were thwarted by the police who prevented CORD supporters from assembling and protesting.
CORD leaders have demanded that the current membership of the electoral body be dissolved and another membership reconstituted, putting into consideration the concerns of other political parties in the country.
Talks between President Kenyatta, who leads Jubilee group, and CORD chairman, Odinga, could not bring a breakthrough although the President expressed interest to resolve the matter mutually.
CORD leader, Odinga, has revealed that officials of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission visited him on Sunday evening to try and persuade him to hold talks with them over the ongoing impasse.
Odinga however said that he turned down the request saying the time for dialogue with the commissioners had ended and that the only way out for them now was to vacate office.
He commended CORD supporters for remaining peaceful throughout the protests saying they would hold the protests twice every week if Jubilee does not heed their call for dialogue.
Unlike in the past where police stopped the protesters from going near Anniversary Towers, on Monday police officers stayed away from CORD’s path, owing to the intervention of the court which allowed CORD supporters to protest.
A court ruling issued earlier had allowed CORD to hold their anti-IEBC protest but prohibited them from storming the IEBC offices or forcefully evicting the commissioners from office.
Kenya’s elections in 2008 witnessed deadly violence that left over 1,000 people dead. There are fears that the situation may repeat itself in the upcoming 2017 presidential elections where both President Kenyatta and CORD leader, Odinga, will contest again.
(ST)