CIC says IEBC mandated to set election date

Written By:Carol Gakii,    Posted: Tue, Mar 20, 2012

CIC chairman Charles Nyachae urged the political class and Kenyans at large to respect the decision by the electoral body The Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC) says the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has the mandate to set the first election date under the new constitution unless constitution is amended, Parliament is dissolved earlier or coalition is dissolved. CIC therefore says the set date is constitutionally acceptable. Speaking in Nairobi Tuesday, CIC chairman Charles Nyachae urged the political class and Kenyans at large to respect the decision by the electoral body. Nyachae clarified that the March date can be changed if an amendment to the constitution is endorsed by parliament or President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga agrees to dissolve the grand coalition. However, some law experts say IEBC should have waited for the determination of the case pending before the court of appeal as well as consulted widely before making the announcement. Former Law Society of Kenya chairman Okong'o Omogeni says the Committee of experts is to blame for the current confusion because it failed to set the date for the transition election. Meanwhile, the Independent Electoral Boundary Commission is expected to conduct a mock election to gauge its preparedness level for the forthcoming general election beginning in Malindi this weekend and Kajiado.  Already the commission has trained 160 presiding clerks for the exercise even as controversy rage over the March 2013 election date. Malindi constituency IEBC returning officer Hamisi Tsumo said 21 out of the 84 polling stations in the electoral zone will participate in the exercise. Six ballot boxes symbolizing the presidential, parliamentary, senatorial, governor, women representative and the county assembly wards will be used in the dummy election. The ballot boxes will be colored differently and will bear similar colour with ballot papers for each post being contested. Elsehwere, CIOC says it will call a stakeholders' meeting next week to discuss election date if court fails to give a clear direction on Thursday.