Kalonzo Musyoka has today Wednesday, November 6, urged Kenya and in particular the Independent Election and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to borrow a leaf from the US elections.
In a post on his X handle, The Wiper leader has urged IEBC to learn a lesson from the US on how to conduct a free, fair, and credible election.
Kalonzo’s comments come in the wake of the aftermath of the US elections, which are set to be concluded within the course of today.
“Over 150 million Americans voted in the historic November 5 election, and their votes were counted, tallied, and announced in less than 24 hours. I believe Kenya, and in particular the IEBC can learn from the United States about how to conduct a free, fair, and credible election,” Kalonzo intimated.
The former Vice President also took the opportunity to congratulate Donald Trump who looks set to ascend to the US presidency, taking over from incumbent Joe Biden. Trump is set to defeat current Vice President Kamala Harris.
“I extend my congratulations to President-Elect Donald Trump on your election as 47th President of the United States of America,” he stated.
“Americans have placed their trust in your ideas and leadership, as evidenced by the outcome of the electoral college and popular vote,” Kalonzo added.
In Kenya’s history, IEBC has been responsible for the three General Elections 2013, 2017, and 2022 held under the new Kenyan Constitution of 2010.
In all the elections, the IEBC has come under fire and been criticized over its conduct of elections by political leaders. Notably, the Presidential elections have attracted the most criticism.
Kalonzo Musyoka, the Wiper leader has been at the center of laying blame to the IEBC over its conduct of presidential elections. Kalonzo was twice a losing running mate in the 2013 and 2017 elections while in 2022, he faced defeat as an Azimio la Umoja (One Kenya) coalition co-principal. In all three elections, Kalonzo and his comrades moved to the Supreme Court challenging the outcome. The Supreme Court has twice ruled against the Opposition figures (2013 and 2022) only ruling in their favor once in 2017 where the Apex Court called for a rerun.
Despite Kalonzo’s call for better conduct of election polls, IEBC currently does not exist as new commissioners are yet to be officially constituted. This comes after President Ruto signed into law the IEBC Amendment Act resulting in the need for a new electoral body to be constituted. The reforms emanated from the recommendations of the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) report – the result of meetings between members of the government and the opposition after the contested 2022 presidential election.
Currently, the matter is before the Kenyan courts after a move to reconstitute a new IEBC body hit a snag after the High Court blocked the submission of names to President Ruto for approval. The ruling prohibited Jeremiah Nyegenye, the Clerk of the Senate and Secretary to the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), from forwarding, publishing, or gazetting the nominees until a further judicial review is conducted.
