Government Taken to Court Over Jubilee's Plan

Human rights activist Okiya Omtatah has moved to the High Court seeking to have the electoral laws passed by Jubilee legislators quashed.

Mr Omtatah has included Attorney General Githu Muigai as the only respondent in the case.

Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Omtatah stated: "We want the court to quash these laws..they have already become law."

The laws were delivered to President Uhuru Kenyatta's desk after they were rushed through Parliament, but he did not assent to them.

However, according to the Constitution, the bill becomes law if a 14-day period lapses without the President assenting to it or returning it to Parliament.

"When the Bill was brought to me for signature as President, I was also compelled by my own conscience to go back to the origins of law. If an act of Parliament is a direct expression of the people, are the people happy with the law?" Kenyatta posed in his acceptance speech after he was declared the President-elect.

[caption caption="IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati hands President Uhuru his certificate"][/caption]

Omtatah, the Executive Director of Kenyans for Justice and Development Trust (KEJUDE), wants the courts to quash the laws entirely, as he maintains that they are unconstitutional.

The laws were passed by Jubilee-allied lawmakers after National Super Alliance (NASA) legislators abandoned the parliamentary proceedings, terming them 'a mockery'.

A 9-member Joint Select Committee was created to scrutinize the laws, led by Baringo North MP William Cheptumo and Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo.

Among other things, the laws scrap the requirement that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries (IEBC) Chairperson be a lawyer and allows the Vice-Chairperson to automatically take over key functions in the absence of the chair.

It also reduces the quorum for the commission's meetings from five to a minimum of three, with matters to be decided by a majority vote if there is no unanimity on a decision.

[caption caption="Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo with Baringo North MP William Cheptumo"][/caption]

Furthermore, it creates a manual results transmission system to run alongside the existing electronic one. In case of discrepancies, however, manually-transmitted results will be considered final.