Duale : NASAs mischief will fail

Duale : NASAs mischief will fail

By Aden Duale

For all intent and purposes, the National Super Alliance looks set to boycott the October 27 repeat presidential elections. The cancellation of its Mombasa rally over the weekend and Raila Odinga’s imminent trip to the United Kingdom all but sealed NASA’s long-term goal of boycotting the polls.

It was clear right from the onset that Raila and his team were not interested in the elections. Immediately after the Supreme Court verdict that ordered a repeat of the polls, NASA wasted no timetabling a list of demands it wanted fulfilled before the polls. That list has kept growing since that September 1 when it won its petition at the Supreme Court. They wanted to ensure these demands are unachievable given the time constraints.

Most of their demands were just stumbling blocks to frustrate preparations for the polls. In hindsight, it should be clear to Kenyans that NASA was not interested in the elections and all they have been after is to foment a constitutional crisis that would necessitate a power-sharing agreement with Jubilee. You see Raila tasted the sweetness of a half a loaf in the Grand Coalition Government 10 years ago and now he is salivating for the same.

It now falls neatly in place. Well aware that it does not have the numbers to beat Jubilee in a free and fair electoral contest, they have not bothered to campaign. Because they know another humiliating defeat is staring at them in the face, the best route out of it is to boycott the elections. It is better not to participate than to be defeated. NASA brigade does not see the need to waste resources when the outcome will be similar to what happened on August 8.

Their scheme also became clear when they started initiating a debate on President Uhuru Kenyatta’s legitimacy should the 60 days given by the Supreme Court for the repeat polls lapse before the elections are held. That debate died a natural death when it was shredded to pieces by constitutional lawyers. Beaten and running out of options, they called their supporters to the streets against IEBC CEO Ezra Chiloba’s continued stay in office. That too has fallen flat on their faces, seeing as it is only in Nairobi and Kisumu that their supporters heeded their call. That they have now added Friday and Wednesday to the protests calendar shows how desperate for publicity they are.

Now that it is clear they are dead set at boycotting the polls, Jubilee must never look back but put its foot down on its amendments to the electoral laws. As it is, these changes will underpin democracy and legitimacy of the polls and guarantee stability of the country post October 26.

Because NASA’s intention are not known to every Kenya, Jubilee must continue to prepare for the elections. History is on its side. The same history will judge NASA principals harshly. There should be no shortcuts to power but through the ballot. There is no room for any coalition government with a political outfit that knows it has no chance on the polls. Sharing power with them is essentially undercutting the democratic will of the people.

The reforms that Jubilee is undertaking are crucial in sealing electoral loopholes. For instance, no single commissioner – chairman or member – must be given the leeway to resign in a huff and create a crisis. All other constitutional commission’s vice chairperson’s have the powers to act in case their chairmen resign. Why not the IEBC?
The ruling party must move with speed and institute these changes to protect the country from the whims of individuals harbouring selfish desires. For Kenya to move on from the elections shenanigans, these changes are needed as soon as practicable. We cannot risk to put Kenya on the list of failed states, not when there are legal ways to remedy this.
All avenues through which a constitutional crisis can be manufactured must be sealed. And President Kenyatta should be sworn in the moment Raila makes it official that he is boycotting the polls. He is the only one interested in seeking the votes from Kenyans anyway. His competitor has chickened out.
Kenyans have been subjected to NASA’s machinations for far too long. It’s time for the country to move ahead.
By Aden Duale

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