Wako blames Parliament for delaying electoral bill

Written By:Lilian Mwendo,    Posted: Wed, Jun 29, 2011

Attorney General Amos Wako says the Clerk has not forwarded the final draft of the bill to his office

Attorney General Amos Wako is now blaming the Clerk of the National Assembly for the delay in the enactment of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission bill (IEBC).

Wako said on Wednesday that the Clerk has not forwarded the final draft of the bill to his office.

In a statement to newsrooms the AG explained  that following numerous amendments to the bill by parliament at its passage, he prepared the draft bill and returned it back to the Clerk of on the 21st of June for the final verification and certification as a true copy before the President's assent.

He said since then no response has been received from the Clerk who is said to be currently out of the country.

"My office prepared the draft Bill for assent and returned it for final verification and approval by the Clerk on the 21st June, 2011.  This was particularly crucial as the Bill had been extensively amended before passage" the AG said.

He added " It is also the procedure that before a Bill is presented for assent, the Clerk must certify it as a true copy of the Bill as passed by the National Assembly. Since then, we have had no response from Parliament". 

This assertion comes even as the Constitutional Implementation Commission (CIC) raised the red flag over the delay warning of a possible constitutional crisis if action is not taken immediately.

CIC on Tuesday in a letter to the President and the Prime Minister demanded that Wako be sacked for derailing constitutional reforms.

According to CIC chairman Charles Nyachae, the electoral  body is supposed to have been already up and running if the elections are to be held by August next year.

The commission  warns that the country may be thrown into a constitutional mayhem come next year.