NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 12 – The Election Observation Group (ELOG) now wants the Parliament to expedite processing pending electoral laws in a bid to ensure they are finalized in time before the commencement of the electioneering period.
The Group’s National Coordinator Mulle Musau told news reporters on Monday finalizing the reforms will ensure electoral hitches witnessed in the past elections are resolved.
“A number of crucial proposals are lying in Parliament and this is an issue of concern to us because time is not standing still. In order to realize comprehensive and timely electoral reforms parliament and all the stakeholders should kick start the discussions and build consensus on necessary electoral reforms,” he said.
Some of the critical legislative proposals include the IEBC Amendment Bill, Political Parties Primaries Bill, Elections Campaign Finance Bill, Representation of Special Interest Group Bill and the Referendum Bill.
In the previous election a number of issues were raised including the election system and adjudication of electoral disputes.
The other outstanding issue is on the constitution of IEBC where currently the commission is operating with only the chairperson and two other commissioners after four others resigned.
The commission’s quorum is set at five.
Musau also said other reforms including the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) constitution review report should be released urgently for public scrutiny.
The BBI had recommended that all current commissioners be removed from office to pave the way for the establishment of a new team ahead of 2022 as part of radical changes to transform the poll agency.
Musau however noted that it wouldn’t be possible to have a total overhaul of the commission given the limited timeline.
ELOG also expressed concerns over the premature 2022 campaigns, calling for action against politicians doing campaigns outside the legal framework and campaign timelines.
