Last minute polls law change recipe for chaos, warns Mudavadi
The Kenya Kwanza Alliance earthquake movement led by ANC party leader Musalia Mudavadi took its campaign trail to Kajiado County with a warning against changing the elections law.
The alliance held rallies in Namanga, Ilbisil, Maili Tisa and Kajiado town.
Addressing the public in the stopovers, Mudavadi warned the government against introducing new election laws few days to the elections.
Mudavadi said the country risks falling into election-related chaos if the playing field is not made fair for all.
“The Government must stop the habit of changing the rules of the game at the eleventh hour,” he warned adding that such a move is meant to prepare ground for electoral malpractice.
The proposed amendments seek to pave way for both manual and electronic transmission of presidential results in the August 9 general election.
“This is a bad law and please do not change the law at the last minute in favour of the project. The move will only affect the elections and it’s credibility,” said Mudavadi.
The proposed law says any failure to transmit the results electronically would not be grounds for the Supreme Court to nullify the presidential vote.
The proposed changes also seek to do away with the live transmission of results.
The Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2022, sponsored by the State and introduced in the House by Majority Leader Amos Kimunya also provides for a complementary mechanism for voter identification.
This means that IEBC officials would be allowed to use manual registers where Kiems kits fail.
Among the provisions is that returning officers managing the election would have to travel to Nairobi with the results after transmitting the same electronically.
IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati would only be allowed to declare the presidential results after receiving results from the 290 constituencies, unlike the current law where it is allowed to declare presidential results if the remaining results would not affect the overall results of the election.
Accompanied by Ford Kenya leader Moses Wetangula, UDA luminaries Kipchumba Murkomen, Kimani Ichungwa, Rigathi Gachagua, Kithure Kindiki and other Kwanza Kenya leaders took a swipe at the Azimio La Umoja coalition terming it a State House project meant to propel ODM leader Rails Odinga to the presidency.
He said Rails is a project of the State and asked the public to vote in the ‘hustler’ bandwagon in the first round so as to save the bleeding economy from a run-up election.
Deputy President William Ruto is said to be out of the country and will join the alliance campaign caravan in Mombasa on Saturday.
Senator Murkomen termed the Bill as one meant to stifle the media and gag it in covering the media.
“By gagging the media, what the Government is try to do is to lay ground for electoral malpractice. We ask the President Uhuru not to interfere with the elections. We will not allow the country to go the 2007/08 way,” he said.
Mr. Ichungwa said together with his colleagues in Parliament will pass the supplementary budget and ensure the electoral agency is well funded so that it is able to carry out credible elections.
Former Machakos Senator Johnstone Muthama urged the Maa community to join the hustle bandwagon and not accept to be divided along tribal lines.
Senator Wetangula said the Kenya Kwanza administration will provide affordable education from nursery to secondary with the poor getting free education.
He added that the administration will avail the universal healthcare to all and avail NHIF cards to all households.
Wetangula said Raila cannot be trusted with the leadership of the country citing their frosty relations caused by the mistrust portrayed by the ODM leader.
Prof. Kindiki said the media should be allowed it’s freedom to work without restrictions including setting up it’s own tallying centres.
“We want the media to be allowed to work freely and to even relay election results without any restrictions. The media is the watchdog of the planned rigging and that is why they are enacting a law at this last minute to restrict the media from transmitting the results,” he said.
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