Change 2017 election date, MPs say

Two legislators have called for a change in the 2017 general elections date from August to December.

Kapenguria MP Samuel Moroto and his Kwanza counterpart Ferdinand Wanyonyi declared their support for the date to be moved from August to December saying that in the month of August a lot of activities will be disrupted ranging from learning in schools to the harvesting season across the country.

The legislators who spoke at Kerinket in West Pokot said the December date was the best.

According to the Constitution Implementation Commission (CIC) and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), a referendum call is in the offing should the National Assembly agree to change the 2017 General Elections dates from August to December.

CIC and LSK say that pushing the election date from August to December will affect the Presidential term necessitating a referendum.

CIC’s Charles Nyachae said factors like the term of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will also inform the decision by Members of Parliament to change the elections dates.

IEBC has set the next General Elections for August 8th, 2017.

IEBC says it had adopted the date in compliance with the constitution despite insistence by some lawmakers that their 5-year term ends in March 2018.

Last month, IEBC Chief Executive Officer Ezra Chiloba said only an amendment to the constitution can alter the election date, even as he confirmed that the commission was preparing for a 6-ballot election, despite calls for staggering the exercise