IEBC commissioners have been promised gov’t jobs, Raila claims

CORD leader Raila Odinga has pointed at an apparent deal between Jubilee government and commissioners of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to slot them into government after the 2017 polls.

Raila put into question the credibility of the IEBC to conduct the next elections saying the commissioners have been compromised by Jubilee.

“We are going for an election which is a contest. In any game, both teams must have confident in the referee, IEBC has refused to carry out proper audit of why its infrastructure failed and what have they done to make sure it does not recur,” he stated.

The ODM leader accused the electoral agency of working in cohorts with Jubilee in order to frustrate the Okoa Kenya Referendum drive and ensure President Uhuru Kenyatta is re-elected in 2017.

“Jubilee government has been working behind the scenes to ensure the Okoa Kenya Referendum does not take place. IEBC has been liaising with Jubilee legislators to frustrate the process by confiding in them about key issues revolving around the story.”

“We have proof that the IEBC commissioners have been promised jobs after the elections when they term comes to an end.”

Raila further defended CORD’s anti-IEBC protests saying their actions are guided by the Constitution.

“We started by invoking Article 37 of the Constitution by collecting and submitting 1.6 million signatures to the IEBC who decided to reject close to half of them,” stated Raila.

“We went across the country to collect signatures but the process was frustrated by IEBC because one of the concerns raised was their inability to hold the next elections.”

He restated that CORD would continue with its push for the removal of IEBC commissioners over questions of integrity after the commission chair Issack Hassan was named in the Chicken Gate scandal that involve irregular procurement of electoral equipment.

Meanwhile, foreign envoys have called for dialogue between political leaders and IEBC on the forthcoming General Election.

In their statement on Wednesday, the envoys which include the United States and United Kingdom said the decision on the future of IEBC must be made in accordance with the Constitution of Kenya and not through protests or forceful evictions.

“Decisions on questions such as the future of the IEBC’s leadership must be broadly acceptable, achieved through dialogue, and made in accord with Kenya’s constitution and laws,” read the statement in part.

The envoys, however, noted that it is a shared responsibility of the government, the opposition, and the people of Kenya to ensure a free, fair, and peaceful election in 2017.

@benjaminwafula