When Kenyans adopted a new Constitution on the 27th of August 2012, they hoped that all the sins of the past would be left in the pages of history and thus mark the beginning of a new chapter for the Republic.
One of the key transformations hoped for was in the manner in which the electoral process would be handled in the future. It all began with the assessment that the election preceding the adoption of the constitution as being so fundamentally flawed that it would have been impossible to assert who may have won the Presidential election as other electoral positions.
What followed after the institution of the new constitution was the establishment of the successors to the disbanded Electoral Commission of Kenya, largely blamed for the bungled elections. These were known as the Interim Independent Electoral Commission and the the Interim Electoral Boundaries Commission which were later merged into the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission through a Statute. Additional to these changes was the enactment of two key pieces of legislation that would act to complement the work of the electoral commission these being the Political Parties Act and the Elections Act.
The Political Parties Act was enacted and came into operation on the 1st of November 2011 to instil discipline in what was a chaotic organisation in how parties were established and governed. Upon its enactment there were well over one hundred parties. After its enforcement only 51 parties could meet the tighter registration criteria. The Elections Act was a statute enacted and came into force on the 2nd of December 2011 to streamline the conduct of elections, general, referenda or otherwise.
Since their enactment the two pieces of legislation have have been targeted by legislators for a number of amendments many of which have been to cater for their interests ahead of the 2013 general elections. The Elections Act has seen a number of changes to it occur within a period of 13 months of its existence for purposes of politicians expedience as pointed out in a blog by political information website Mzalendo. The key changes that are catered to the politicians are those touching on the timelines that would allow the MPs to hop from one Party to another. Frankly, these changes have enabled the MPs to remain in their parties until the 14th of January 2014. The space between that date and the final allowed date for the carrying out party nominations is only four days. This is a clear example of politicians clinging to power to the very last straw.
Politicians however are not the only culprits in this game of mutilation of the Elections Act. Through the hand of Parliamentarians, the IEBC has been pushing for amendments to the Act in a manner that favours its haphazard operations. The latest has been in facilitating the period of voter register inspection from 30 days to 14 days and increasing the period within which IEBC is to make compilations from not less than 30 days to the election to read "at least 14 days to the election" This means amendments can even be done to the very last date.
It is sad that the 2013 elections are going to be an example in ill preparedness and expediency for large parties and incumbents. So far, IEBC has used the legislative process to seal loopholes in execution of its mandate working at the behest of the political elite. Kenyans must be vigilant to ensure that they monitor each of the activities of the politicians and IEBC and ensure that they conform with the law especially now that Parliament is in its dying days.
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