The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has called for sobriety from all sides of the political divide when discussing the electoral laws.
In a statement sent on Thursday, the Commission expressed disappointment in how the ongoing debate about amendments to electoral laws had raised unnecessary temperatures in the country.
The Commission maintained that the political actors were not helping the country by engaging in the shoving being witnessed especially between the Jubilee and CORD coalition members.
“The country is witnessing unwarranted grandstanding among political players on key issues that touch on the electoral process. This is not helpful and will not be helpful. It is the duty of each actor, especially the political leaders, to give Kenyans reasons to be hopeful about the elections. This will require sobriety in debates, tolerance and respect for the rule of law,” said the electoral body.
IEBC affirmed that it had proposed some of the changes being opposed by the Opposition leaders, but cried foul that the issues raised had been misunderstood.
“It is unfortunate that the issues raised by the IEBC have been misrepresented and taken out of context. This is despite the fact that the IEBC held a series of meetings with Parliament, media, political parties and state actors on the implications of the new law for election management,” stated the commission.
The polls body was reacting following the chaotic and violent confrontations witnessed in the National Assembly between Jubilee and CORD MPs during a debate on the amendments which were finally passed.
The new changes allow the Commission to resort to a manual voter identification system in case the electronic one fails during the 2017 election.
This has, however, been objected by the Opposition which claims the manual system will provide a loophole for the government to manipulate the upcoming polls.
