Consumer Federation Of Kenya Wants IEBC To Postpone Repeat Election

Consumer Federation of Kenya (COFEK) wants the Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission Chairman Wafula Chebukati to postpone the repeat elections.

In an interview on Tuesday, COFEK Secretary-General Stephen Mutoro said the electoral commission should strive to unite the country other than proceed with an election that will divide it.

He also called on the commission’s boss to accommodate all participating candidates’ demands.

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“Extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. We rarely comment on matters politics. But when such political processes and decisions directly affect consumers, we caot keep quiet any longer,” Mr. Mutoro said.

Mutoro added that the withdrawal of NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga and threats that the elections may not be held in NASA perceived strongholds shows Chebukati should take a bold move and postpone the elections.

“The IEBC has been cagey with implications of the passed Election Bill – passed by Jubilee MPs which is awaiting President Kenyatta’s assent. IEBC has not indicated if regulations to implement the new laws will be in place by October 26 and this is something to worry about,” he said.

He said the ongoing anti-IEBC protests and killings, especially in Nyanza region are polarising the country.

“The timing is just not right. IEBC should delay the elections and broker truce between Uhuru and Raila before it subjects Kenyans to other elections.”

He advised that Uhuru is installed as a caretaker President so that there is no vacuum.

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The COFEK boss is not the first person or group to call for a postponement or try to put a stop to the October 26 polls.

Former Kilome MP John Harun Mwau is seeking to stop the IEBC from holding the repeat presidential election.

He says the conduct of the rerun is in violation of the Constitution.

Mwau says after the August 8 election results were nullified by the Supreme Court, the IEBC should have conducted nominations before ordering the rerun.

His case seeks orders on whether a legitimate election can be held on the basis of nominations, which, according to him, have already been quashed by the Supreme Court.

In his suit papers, Mwau is of the view that the election, if conducted without fresh nominations, risks being nullified by the apex court.

“It’s clear if respondents continue with the election as stated in the Gazette notice, it is susceptible to nullification by the Supreme Court, subjecting the public and the nation to great expense, detriment, uncertainty, and loss.”

The former legislator argues that nomination is an express and unambiguous legal prerequisite for a presidential election and it caot be presumed in law or waived.

He wants the court to issue a declaration that a presidential election can be won either by a candidate who has complied with the requirements to make him the only candidate nominated for a race, or, where two or more are nominated, by the one who gets most votes casts and receives at least 25 percent of votes cast in each of 24 counties or more.

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