President Uhuru Kenyatta has stated that he is firmly behind the proposed changes to electoral laws that are being championed by the Jubilee Party in Parliament.
Speaking during a rally in Busia on Friday, the Head of State stated the changes to the Election Laws will guarantee transparency by curbing any form of malpractice.
He added that an election was about, and belonged to the Kenyan people and not the candidates.
“There is no way that the Government will allow any person to block any voter from exercising their right to choose the leader or leaders of their choice,” reiterated Kenyatta.
On Thursday, consultative talks on the repeat presidential election collapsed at the Bomas of Kenya after National Super Alliance (NASA) representatives walked out to protest fast-tracking of amendments being pushed by Jubilee MPs.
The walk-out came hours after Jubilee-controlled National Assembly voted to shorten the maturation period for two Bills to change the way presidential elections are managed.
According to the bill, where only one candidate remains after the withdrawal of another Presidential candidate, the remaining person shall be declared the president-elect without any elections being held.
The Bill also seeks to principally address the shortcomings that led to the invalidation of the August presidential vote, watering down the requirement for electronic transmission of the results and instead placing manual transmission as the legally binding process.
It also prescribes a custodial sentence of up to 15 years for any presiding or returning officer who knowingly refuses to sign, submits incomplete forms or wilfully alters or falsifies documents relating to elections.
President Kenyatta, accompanied by Deputy President William Ruto, spoke in Busia town on Friday where he formally received Paul Otuoma and other opposition leaders from the county to Jubilee. Otuoma, a former ODM-allied MP, narrowly lost in the Busia gubernatorial elections.
The President thanked Busia residents for voting for him in the August 8 polls and urged them to turn out in large numbers to enable him win with a bigger margin in the October 26 fresh presidential election.
