Election: CIOC to convene a stakeholders' meeting

Written By:Diana Okemwa,    Posted: Tue, Mar 20, 2012

Abdikadir blamed the Committee of Experts for failing to give a definite date for the first election under the new constitution. The Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) says it will convene a stakeholders' meeting next week to discuss the election date if the court fails to give a clear direction on Thursday. CIOC chair Abdikadir Mohammed says the committee is ready to work within its mandate to resolve the election date row to avoid division in the country. He said despite divergent views on the legal aspects, there is need to embrace a united front to ensure credible elections. Abdikadir blamed the Committee of Experts for failing to give a definite date for the first election under the new constitution. Meanwhile, an election observation group has warned against politicization of the election date which it says can be altered. The Institute of Education in Democracy says the country is not ready to go to the polls in a hostile environment fuelled by pronouncement of an election date by the electoral body. Elsewhere, Prime Minister Raila Odinga now wants Kenyans to tone down debate on the date of the next General Election saying the move risk losing focus on fundamental issues of national concern. Raila says there is need to cool temperatures as the leadership seeks to address what he termed critical implications of a March 2013 election and find a way forward. In a statement Tuesday, the Prime Minister maintained his preference for a December election saying the March date will disrupt the school calendar and the farming season with political campaigns that are likely to take the entire first half of next year. Meanwhile, Lands Minister James Orengo has come to the defense of the PM saying the remarks he made against the court ruling on the election date presented his dissenting opinion regarding the verdict. He said Kenyans have a right to give their opinion regarding any issue that has been settled in court.