Duale lashes at church leaders for speaking against IEBC

National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale has lashed out at church leaders for calling for disbandment of poll body IEBC ahead of next year’s General Election.

Duale said there is roadmap on how the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission can be reformed in the Constitution, adding that die process should be observed.

Speaking in Garissa, Duale challenged the National Council of Churches of Kenya-NCCK to focus on religious issues.

This comes a day after NCCK led by Secretary General Reverend Canon Peter Karanja called for a complete overhaul of the poll body to guarantee a credible and peaceful election next year.

The clergy had intimated IEBC as currently constituted is incapable of handling a free and fair election in a deeply divided county.

At the same time, Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero join the leaders calling for the disbandment of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission ahead of the next year’s General Election.

Speaking during a church service at Salvation Army church at Kabete in Nairobi, the city governor said a reconstituted IEBC will guarantee Kenyans of a free, fair and credible election in 2017.

He warned that the country should not wait for a bungled General Election as witnessed in the 2007 poll before acting to better the crucial commission.

The IEBC has come under sharp criticism from opposition leaders who claim it will be not able to conduct free and fair elections come next year’s General Election.

Last month, the future of the referendum drive was thrown into disarray after IEBC claimed that CORD did not manage to collect the required 1 million signatures.

The commission noted that of the 1.6 million signatures submitted by CORD only about 891,000 were valid, a pronouncement that elicited criticism from the opposition.