Dagoretti North Member of Parliament (MP) Simba Arati has come out to question the motivation behind Education Cabinet Secretary (CS) Fred Matiang'i’s announcement on dates for this year's national examinations.
Matiang’i had earlier in the day announced that the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) exams would begin on October 23rd and run to November 29th.
He went on to state that the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) test would run from November 1st to 3rd of the same month.
Because 90% of polling stations are schools, Matiang’i noted he had written to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) asking them to conduct the election a week before October 17th.
According to Mr Arati, who seemingly believes Matiang'i’s latest move is politically motivated, the Presidential election and the country’s stability should be given priority.
With the court ruling rendered on September 1st compelling the electoral body to conduct fresh elections within 60 days, a November 1st deadline for the poll looms.
DP William Ruto and other Jubilee leaders have started piling pressure on IEBC to announce dates for the new election as soon as possible, insisting they are ready to go back to the ballot at any time.
The National Super Alliance has, however, announced that it will not go into the election unless heads roll at the embattled commission.
They have demanded for the immediate resignation and prosecution of CEO Ezra Chiloba and 5 other Secretariat officials they claim were part of a plan to rig the election.
The Jubilee leadership has vowed to oppose any moves made by the opposition to reconstitute the IEBC, and want the commission to come up with new timelines immediately.
The Supreme Court's full judgement, which is supposed to be released by September 22nd, is expected to influence the decisions concerning identifying those culpable for the election irregularities.
