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By:
RAMADHAN RAJAB, | |||||||||
| Posted:
Dec,25-2016 16:53:35
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Religious leaders have called on President Uhuru Kenyatta to rise above partisan interests and reject the adoption of changes to electoral laws.
The National Council of Churches of Kenya and Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims said on Friday that this will prevent another round of political violence come 2017.
The leaders condemned the hurried manner in which amendments to election laws were crafted and passed by one side of the political divide.
The move by Jubilee raised political mistrust, they said, and added that the signing of the changes into law would be a recipe for violence.
Nelson Makanda, who is NCCK deputy secretary general, noted that the laws resulted from negotiations by all political players.
"It was all-inclusive...All stakeholders were involved in its crafting, passage in Parliament and signing as the acceptable law. It is absurd that one side can bully through amendments. This beats the purpose of public participation and negotiations, undermining goodwill and confidence," he said.
Makanda added that integrated electronic voter identification and results transmission, as had been agreed upon by the select committee, would ensure credible elections and avert disputes.
"We should be talking about what it will take to have every polling station on the 3G network," he said, noting that even KCPE exam results were released online, and that admissions are taking the same format, irrespective of locations.
"If there are issues, we wonder why they did not pop up from the onset. [If that is the case], the joint select committee should be reconstituted to look into them."
He added that President Uhuru Kenyatta should reject the amendments since there is acrimony and the risk of violence and deaths come the August 8, 2017 general election.
Hassan ole Naado, Supkem's deputy secretary general, said: "The president should rise above partisan interests by rejecting those amendments. Laws that come to place through negotiated processes cannot be brought back by one side and changed the way it happened in Parliament.
"It creates distrust that will also undermine the ongoing IEBC commissioners selection. If any changes have to be pursued, the select committee structure is the only route."
The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops-Catholic Justice and Peace Commission raised similar concerns in a statement on Thursday.
The organisation raised alarm over the arbitrary adoption of the changes by Parliament, saying they went against the spirit of the jointly negotiated electoral reforms. The reforms were agreed upon by the Joint Parliamentary Select Committee in August.
The KCCB-CJPC further said it was saddened by the changes and called for dialogue among political leaders in all processes related to elections, to minimise mistrust, conflict and possible violence.
"The President should rise above politics and act in his capacity [as Kenya's leader] and the symbol of national unity to promote cohesion," said chairman, Reverend Cornelius Korir.
"We urge you not to sign the amendments into law and that you give dialogue a chance."
The bishops said they were disappointed by the behaviour of MPs on Tuesday and Thursday, during the two special sittings that had been called by National Speaker Justin Muturi to discuss the election amendments laws.
On Thursday, Jubilee-affiliated MPs forcibly changed the Elections Act, allowing the electoral commission to use an alternative manual system if the electronic voter identification system collapses.
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