PHOTO:

Gatundu South Member of Parliament Moses Kuria. Image: Courtesy

By:

Brian Oruta

Posted:

Feb,04-2022 11:37:54

Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria has said that the proposed radical changes to the election laws will be disastrous for the country.

Speaking on Thursday, Kuria said the changes, which seeks to pave way for both manual and electronic transmission of presidential results in the August 9 general election, is a recipe for chaos and he will oppose them.

"I can say without fear of contradiction that the Amendments proposed by up rooter Amos Kimunya are a recipe for chaos. I will oppose," he said on Facebook.

The MP said he was part of the bicameral team that worked to reform the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and Elections Act in 2016, where he strongly vouched for electronic result transmission, despite those from his side of the divide being opposed to it.

Kuria cautioned leaders supporting the amendments, saying that they will regret the decision.

He called on National Assembly Minority Whip Junet Mohammed to lead MPs allied to Raila Odinga's Azimio la Umoja in opposing the changes.

"I urge Junet Mohammed to lead the Azimio team in opposing just like he did in 2016. Otherwise, you will cry in the toilet thinking you are fixing others. Utanikumbuka (you will remember me)."

The proposed law says any failure to transmit the results electronically would not be grounds for the Supreme Court to nullify the presidential vote.

The proposed changes also seek to do away with the live transmission of results.

The Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2022, sponsored by the state and introduced in the House by Majority leader Amos Kimunya also provides for a complementary mechanism for voter identification.

This means IEBC officials would be allowed to use manual registers where Kiems kits fail.

Among the provisions is that returning officers managing the election would have to travel to Nairobi with the results after transmitting the same electronically.

IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati would only be allowed to declare the presidential results after receiving results from the 290 constituencies, unlike the current law where it is allowed to declare presidential results if the remaining results would not affect the overall results of the election.

The proposed law, which would impact the operations of IEBC, has elicited a lot of interest within the competing political quarters, with an expected showdown between troops allied to Deputy President William Ruto and those of President Uhuru Kenyatta and ODM leader Raila Odinga, as they discuss the same in the National Assembly.

Source:

The Star