Ruto, Raila teams bicker over IEBC and poll audit
United Democratic Alliance (UDA) Secretary General Cleophas Malala (right) and Emuhaya MP Omboko Milemba among other UDA party representatives during a presentation of the coalition's proposals to the National Dialogue Committee at the Bomas of Kenya on October 3, 2023.
President William Ruto and Opposition leader Raila Odinga have once again clashed over the reconstitution of the electoral agency and a demand for an audit of last year’s presidential election results.
Mr Odinga's team on Tuesday insisted on a forensic audit firm to establish the truth about the 2022 polls, a position rejected by President Ruto's side, which cited the Supreme Court ruling as final on the outcome.
On the reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Mr Odinga is demanding that Dr Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza Alliance and Opposition outfit Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party nominate commissioners on a 50-50 basis. This is akin to the 1997 Inter-Party Parliamentary Group (IPPG) arrangement in which political parties directly elected commissioners.
But President Ruto wants the IEBC selection panel he appointed in February to proceed with the recruitment of a team to replace the one led by ex-Chairman Wafula Chebukati. This, Kenya Kwanza argues, will guarantee the independence of the commission and protect it from possible political interference. However, the two opposing camps closed ranks on the proposed creation of the Office of the Leader of the Official Opposition and the entrenchment of the Office of the Prime Cabinet Secretary.
“We believe that the idea of an official Opposition, beyond a mere minority parliamentary leadership, makes tremendous sense in terms of institutionalising governance, strengthening oversight and deepening democracy. It is time to explore the possibility of addressing this shortcoming," Kenya Kwanza said in its submission.
The two camps are also reading from the same script when it comes to pushing for the implementation of the two-thirds gender rule, the entrenchment of the National Government-Constituency Development Fund (NG-CDF) and the creation of the Senate Oversight Fund.
In a submission to the National Dialogue Committee sitting at the Bomas of Kenya, the Kenya Kwanza team said further delay in appointing the commissioners risked a constitutional crisis.
The team, led by United Democratic Alliance Secretary-General Cleophas Malala, his Amani National Congress counterpart Omboko Milemba and Mr John Chikati, cited pending by-elections in seven constituencies and the planned review of constituency boundaries, due by March next year.
"In our view, therefore, in order to safeguard the independence of the commission, the process of recruitment of the commission by the selection panel should be allowed to continue in order to have a fully constituted commission in the shortest possible time," Mr Malala told the team, which was co-chaired by Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and National Assembly majority leader Kimani Ichung'wah.
Kenya Kwanza said opening up the presidential election results had the potential to foment anarchy and chaos. But the Opposition, in its submissions, said there were many inconsistencies in the presidential result that could only be resolved by an audit.
It presented the controversial figures from a purported whistleblower that put Mr Odinga ahead of Dr Ruto with 8,170,355 votes against 5,919,973.
"Each polling station has a maximum of 700 registered voters. It is therefore statistically impossible for a candidate who wins in more than 2,700 polling stations, 155 wards, 29 constituencies, eight counties and five regions to be the national loser," said former Laikipia Governor Ndiritu Muriithi. The coalition suggested that the two camps should engage forensic audit firms to conduct the process in accordance with the Constitution. The Independent Review Commission (IREC), the team chaired by former South African judge Johann Kriegler, had in its report recommended an audit of the presidential results.
"Institutionalise the practice of post-election audits and evaluations and improve the quality of the objective data involved. Post-election audits should be conducted by external auditors and made public," the Kriegler report recommended.
An audit has never been done for the results of the 2013, 2017 and 2022 presidential elections.
The Opposition has also proposed radical changes in the management of the IEBC, including recommending that the role of the IEBC chairman be "first among equals and not the sole shareholder".
Mr Odinga has been consistent in pushing for the IPPG approach to the recruitment of IEBC commissioners. Azimio argues that it was under the IPPG model that the country held one of the most credible elections in 2002.
The opposition also wants the IEBC secretariat to be restructured, citing the incessant battle between the commissioners and the chief executive officer.
The opposition also raised the issue of alleged interference with rival parties. In its submission, it accused President Ruto of sponsoring a rebellion in the Jubilee Party of retired President Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr Odinga's Orange Democratic Movement.
