Sunday, July 18, 2010

What Ruto says should 'Yes' win referendum

Those opposed to the Proposed Constitution are confident of a 'No' verdict on August 4, but warn of a legitimacy crisis if the 'Yes' camp wins by a simple 50-plus margin.

William Ruto, who is the de facto leader of the ‘No’ camp, accused the ‘Yes’ camp of providing excuses why the draft constitution should be passed.

"Kenyans will surprise the ‘Yes’ camp and the writing is on the wall. Come August 4, the choice will not be between the proposed and the current constitution, but between voting ‘Yes’ to enact a faulty constitution, or voting ‘No’ to give room to correcting the ambiguity and come-up with a document agreeable to all Kenyans," said Ruto.

The Eldoret North MP added: "Statements such as the Proposed Constitution is better than the current one or we have waited over 20 years for a new constitution, are simple excuses and not convincing reasons of passing a faulty constitution that would be too expensive and not easy to amend."

"Looking at it either way, we will have a second referendum but the right opportunity to improve the document is before it is enacted into law, rather than after," said Ruto in an interview with The Standard On Sunday.

He said both the ‘Yes’ and ‘No’ camps believe changes have to be made to the Proposed Constitution for it to live to its expectations, but differ only on whether the changes should be before or after the referendum.

"Millions of Kenyans still believe we should not lose a chance to have a new constitution by enacting a bad one out of desperation," noted Ruto, who is the Minister for Higher Education.

The minister said the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) has the capacity to carry out a free and fair referendum, and that it would overcome minor challenges such as flaws in the voter registers.

"The last two by-elections have shown the IIEC is impartial and Kenyans are hopeful we do not go back to the days of the defunct Electoral Commission of Kenya. Citizens will do their part to ensure the process is free and fair," said Ruto.

The ODM Deputy Party Leader said the ‘Yes’ camp has no numbers to win the referendum by 65 per cent to make the Proposed Constitution enjoy legitimacy. He said a simple majority win would raise serious fundamental questions on its legality. He said international practice requires that at least 40 per cent of eligible voters back the draft to gain legitimacy, and that seven million Kenyans should return a ‘Yes’ verdict if the draft has to gain legitimacy.

On persistent claims he rejected the draft out of personal differences with the Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Ruto termed the claim ‘shallow reasoning’, noting the draft is for Kenyans.

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