Posted on: 2012-09-05 02:30:16 ( 4 comments )
Kenyan Members of Parliament have agreed to effect some changes to the Elections Act extending the period to finalize the law.
Speaking to the media, The Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) chairman Abdikadir Mohammed said the House teams which were working on the election regulations wanted more time to scrutinise the rules and get public input.
The legislators have approved changes to the law for two more months to approve the rules. The law prescribed that the rules have to be in place six months before elections, which expired on Tuesday.
The law currently states that the registration of voters should be complete at least 90 days before the next elections, but the MPs proposed that the registration period expires on the 4th of January 2013, sixty days before the polls.
Next elections are set for March 4th next year. “Both amendments are not controversial, are absolutely necessary and will need to be approved so that we move forward,” said Mr Mohammed at a news conference in Parliament Buildings last Tuesday.
The agreement, he said, was arrived at after an informal meeting called by the House Speaker to chart the way forward regarding the matter. The meeting was held on Tuesday at Parliament’s Old Chamber.
The rules pending before the CIOC, the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee and the Committee on Delegated Legislation have to do with the registration of voters, diaspora voting, voter education and general rules on the elections.
“It’s not possible to finish the four documents, do justice to them and approve them this afternoon. We need time to extend the approval period. It will allow MPs and Parliament to do a thorough job,” Justice Minister Eugene Wamalwa told journalists at the same briefing.
“We’re going to amend the Elections Act, and the proposals for amendments to reduce the time required from six months to four months so that election regulations are approved four months to elections,” said Mr Mohammed.
Speaking to the media, The Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) chairman Abdikadir Mohammed said the House teams which were working on the election regulations wanted more time to scrutinise the rules and get public input.
The legislators have approved changes to the law for two more months to approve the rules. The law prescribed that the rules have to be in place six months before elections, which expired on Tuesday.
The law currently states that the registration of voters should be complete at least 90 days before the next elections, but the MPs proposed that the registration period expires on the 4th of January 2013, sixty days before the polls.
Next elections are set for March 4th next year. “Both amendments are not controversial, are absolutely necessary and will need to be approved so that we move forward,” said Mr Mohammed at a news conference in Parliament Buildings last Tuesday.
The agreement, he said, was arrived at after an informal meeting called by the House Speaker to chart the way forward regarding the matter. The meeting was held on Tuesday at Parliament’s Old Chamber.
The rules pending before the CIOC, the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee and the Committee on Delegated Legislation have to do with the registration of voters, diaspora voting, voter education and general rules on the elections.
“It’s not possible to finish the four documents, do justice to them and approve them this afternoon. We need time to extend the approval period. It will allow MPs and Parliament to do a thorough job,” Justice Minister Eugene Wamalwa told journalists at the same briefing.
“We’re going to amend the Elections Act, and the proposals for amendments to reduce the time required from six months to four months so that election regulations are approved four months to elections,” said Mr Mohammed.
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