We are ready for teargas on Monday – Senator Khalwale

Kakamega Senator Bonny Khalwale has said CORD legislators will not back down from their bid to hold a protest march to the offices of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in their push for their removal from office.

Speaking at a funeral service in Ikolomani on Saturday, Khalwale called on Luhya leaders to support the push for the removal of IEBC commissioners saying as a coalition they will brave teargas in order to ensure their demands are met.

CORD has remained adamant that they will not balk in their effort to have IEBC commissioners vacate office before the 2017 elections, adding that the commission cannot be trusted to deliver a free and fair election.

The coalition’s attempt to storm IEBC offices last Monday was thwarted after police lobbed teargas to disperse the leaders.

Despite the setback, CORD leaders Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetangula have insisted that they would keep on with their push to have the commission removed saying they would boycott the next polls if the commission were not disbandment.

Jubilee MPs had last week moved to court to stop CORD’s marches to IEBC. The court, in its ruling on Thursday, however allowed CORD to engage with IEBC to seek resolutions to their issues, though warning against violence.

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto has been on the forefront in opposing CORD’s planned marches to IEBC calling on the opposition to use the right channels to express their grievance.

Raila in his interview with Citizen TV last week ruled out the possibility of using the National Assembly to push for the removal of IEBC commissioners, saying Jubilee has been taking advantage of its tyranny of numbers to frustrate the motion.

He further noted that CORD’s push to have the Okoa Kenya referendum was frustrated by IEBC, in cohorts with the Jubilee Government, saying the commission’s announcement that only half of the 1.6 million signatures were valid was untrue.

Raila claimed that IEBC’s unwillingness to validate the signatures was as a result of clauses in their draft Bill that called for reforms at the commission.

He also alleged that the commissioners have been promised plum jobs by President Uhuru Kenyatta if they rig him in in the 2017 elections.

The electoral agency has however come out to refute the claims saying they would resign if Raila produces evidence to back his claims.

@benjaminwafula