Akombe’s exit will not affect repeat presidential poll – Jubilee MPs say

Two MPs from Nyeri County have downplayed the exit of IEBC commissioner Roselyn Akombe saying that ‘it will have no impact’ on the repeat presidential election slated for Thursday next week.

Speaking to Citizen Digital on Wednesday, Kieni Member of Parliament Kanini Kega and his Mathira counterpart Rigathi Gachagua have said that the move by Akombe does not come as a surprise.

“The move by Akombe is unpatriotic and that goes to confirm that all along she was a NASA sympathizer,” said Mr. Kega.

Kega is now calling on President Uhuru Kenyatta to sign the Elections Amendment Bill 2017 into law to ensure that the repeat poll is not ‘sabotaged’.

Echoing Kega’s sentiments, Gachagua said that Akombe’s exit was ‘imminent’ and called upon Kenyans to remain calm in the build-up to the repeat election.

“The resignation was part of a grand plan to derail the elections but we must stress that the repeat presidential election is still on,” the Mathira legislator said.

He also hailed the amendments on the Elections Act by Parliament saying the recent amendment to the electoral law ‘will address quorum hitches in the commission’.

This comes after Akombe resigned from the electoral commission on Wednesday morning saying that the commission, as currently constituted, cannot guarantee a credible election on October 26.

“It has become increasingly difficult to continue attending plenary meetings where Commissioners come ready to vote along partisan lines and not to discuss the merit of issues before them. It has become increasingly difficult to appear on television to defend positions I disagree with in the name of collective responsibility,” Dr. Akombe said in a statement sent from New York.

However, in a tweet, the electoral commission said it regrets Dr Akombe’s resignation and will issue a detailed statement on the issue in due course.