NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 9 – Archbishop Jackson Ole Sapit has called on political leaders to sit and converse on the reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
Speaking on Easter Sunday, the head of Kenya’s Anglican Church said the composition of the electoral agency should be done in a manner that seek to win the confidence of all stakeholders.
‘’IEBC selection panel must all be inclusive, it should not be handpicked or from one political wing, let it be said or seen to be a dialogue that has produced a formula that we are going to get the IEBC formation that is acceptable to all of us,’’ he said.
Sapit also called on bipartisan consensus to address the high cost of living and social economic inequality.
‘’Social economic inequality has never been addressed, this conversation is to help us understand how we can reduce social economic inequality because they will keep coming if web do not address them,’’ he stated.
In addition, Sapit advised leaders to avoid antagonism while in national conversations which risk fomenting chaos.
‘’As a nation we need to get rid of things that differentiate us, things that make us collide with each other. They chain us and they prevent us from making progress,’’ he added.
Election-dominated demands
Sapit was referring to efforts to convene bi-partisan talks in Parliament in a bid to forestall the revival of disruptive anti-government protests by Azimio leader Raila Odinga who has refused to acknowledge President William Ruto’s victory in the 2022 presidential election.
Odinga, who has initially expressed reservations on talks proposed by Ruto instead calling for externally mediated dialogue outside the framework of Parliament, has already named seven lawmakers to participate in the parliamentary process.
Ruto’s side dismissed proposals for a mediation that would result in a settlement akin to the 2018 truce between President Uhuru Kenyatta and Odinga, famously referred to as handshake.
Azimio named Ledama Ole Kina (Narok), Edwin Sifuna (Nairobi), Millie Odhiambo (Suba North), Enock Wambua (Kitui), Amina Mnyazi (Malindi), David Pkosing (Pokot South) and Otiende Amollo (Rarieda) on Wednesday following Parliamentary Group Meeting in Machakos.
“We shall send our members to that select committee. The point of reference shall be lowering the cost of unga and electricity, audit of IEBC servers used before, during and after the 2022 elections, reviewing the dismissal of the IEBC four, and for the government to consider restructuring IEBC by devolving its structures,” Kalonzo Musyoka, a principle in the coalition, stated following the PG.
