Folks,
After public acceptance of Reform date change for election, possibility of changing the whole Constitutional Agenda by politicians to suit special interest will not be difficult. This will be the beginning of real storm of problems like never before, the intimidation by Politically correct, with denial of Rights and Justice engulfed with pain and sufferings, a kind of hardship by slaves never experienced before, with invasion of privacy and infringements of property rights will be the order of day.
Kenyans will have given the corrupt a clean bill open check for more corruption, graft and impunity. There will be no more democracy or Reform Change…….Sad to say the least. Power will have been taken away from public back to the politically correct and corrupt. We will have nobody to go back to. This will be the dead end to our Referendum’s New Constitution and the Coalition Government will stay on as is indefinately.
I am truely sad…….
Judy Miriga
Diaspora Spokesperson
Executive Director
Confederation Council Foundation for Africa Inc.,
USA
http://socioeconomicforum50.blogspot.com
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Election Date Debate
Uploaded by kenyacitizentv on Nov 1, 2011
The commission on the implementation of the new constitution insists that it is possible to have the next general election on the 14th of august 2012. The commission’s chairman Charles Nyachae insists that funds can be made available and electoral boundaries set up in time for the elections. Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo on the other hand maintains that the move to change the date to December 2012 is genuine. And as Alex Chamwada reports, despite the much anticipated supreme court ruling on the controversy, Mutula is set to present the bill to the house business committee tomorrow.
Govt Publishes Elections Bill
Uploaded by kenyacitizentv on Oct 31, 2011
The Government insists that it is technically impossible to hold elections in August next year as required by the constitution. Owing to this, the Government has published a bill which seeks to change the date of the next General Election from August to December. Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo says he is now all set to present the bill seeking to change the election date to the House Business Committee on Wednesday. This, despite the much awaited verdict of the Supreme Court on the interpretation of the constitution. Alex Chamwada has more on the proposals in the bill.
AG On Election Date
Uploaded by kenyacitizentv on Oct 13, 2011
SELECTION BLIND DATE: CIC, Govt. differ on move to amend constitution. Githu: We will seek to clarify the matter
Cabinet Meeting on Elections Date
Uploaded by kenyacitizentv on Oct 18, 2011
The cabinet has approved what it termed as an improved version of the Constitution Amendment Bill 2011, in which it seeks to move the date of the first General Election under the new constitution, from August to December 2012. Specifically, the Bill seeks to have the first General Election held on 17th December, 2012 while the date of dissolution of the 10th Parliament has set for the 24th Oct, 2012. The Government’s top decision making organ insisted it was untenable to hold the General Election in August as provided for in the constitution, and cited procedural and logistical challenges such as the budget cycle, boundaries delimitation and fresh voter registration exercise as the major bottle-necks. But as Francis Gachuri reports, some legal experts have already dismissed the proposed amendment as ill-timed.
Wetangula’s woes
http://www.youtube.com/user/NTVKenya?blend=1&ob=4#p/search/0/Mj14gwiFyUI
From: NTVKenya | Sep 7, 2011 | 3,097 views
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http://www.ntv.co.ke
National assembly speaker Kenneth Marende has directed the Prime Minister to deliver a statement in parliament on the reinstatement of Moses Wetangula as Foreign Affairs minister despite being under probe by a house committee. The PM who was expected to deliver the statement today (Wednesday) said he was engaged elsewhere on official duty and asked to deliver it in a week’s time, but the speaker would hear none of that. Richard Chacha has the rest of that story.
Election boss backs December election date
By David Ochami
Mr Isaack Hassan, the outgoing chairman of the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC), on Tuesday added his voice to calls that the General Election be held in December 2012. His statement came at a time Kenyans have trained their eyes on the Supreme Court to give an advisory opinion on the correct date for holding next year’s General Election.
The Constitution states that all General Elections will be conducted on the second Tuesday of August each year
Hassan, who has been nominated to chair the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), made the remarks when he appeared before Parliament’s Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) for vetting. The committee vetted Hassan and all the other eight nominees for IEBC commissioners and will today prepare its report and table it in Parliament on Thursday.
Hassan declared that key authorities inside and outside Government generally agree it is impossible to hold next year’s elections in August and that he believes that the Supreme Court would lean towards a December date for the epic polls when making its historic ruling.
His comments follow an Ipsos-Synovate opinion poll that indicated that 50 per cent of Kenyans supported an August date for the next General Election. However, moving the poll to December is popular with Members of Parliament who have the vote to either approve or reject Hassan’s nomination and that of the eight commissioners.
“It can never happen in August,” said Hassan in reference to next year’s elections. He added that he favoured December because “this Parliament must complete its term [on January 15, 2013].”
The IEBC is expected to succeed the IIEC by the end of the week and Tuesday, Hassan faced questioning by CIOC members at Parliament buildings in Nairobi.
He denied accusations that mismanagement and nepotism thrived under his watch at IIEC and pledged to draw up the controversial 80 new constituencies within four months of the IEBC being constituted, and “according to the law without gerrymandering.”
CIOC chairman Mohammed Abdikadir shielded Hassan from demands by unknown petitioners seeking his comments on the ongoing International Criminal Court (ICC) investigations in Kenya.
Defence Assistant minister Joseph Nkaissery and several MPs also protested when Kinangop MP David Ngugi and Public Health minister Beth Mugo tried to pin down the nominee on how he intends to manage drawing of the 80 new constituencies.
Most MPs on CIOC, save for Gwassi MP John Mbadi, beamed with excitement, rolling back in their seats as Hassan backed calls to postpone the next General Election.
Justice and Constitutional Affairs Minister Mutula Kilonzo drafted an amendment to the new Constitution seeking to move the polls date to December 17, next year.
Other supporters of the change include Professor Yash Pal Ghai, former chairman of the defunct Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC) and Paul Otiende Amollo, who sat on the Committee of Experts CoE that wrote the new charter.
“We cannot go with what is populist,” said Hassan, noting that although the Constitution says elections should be held next August, he has been persuaded to support postponement by the reasoning of the Attorney-General Prof Githu Muigai, Prof Ghai and Mr Amollo.
“The truth is that we cannot hold elections in August and the Supreme Court is going to confirm that,” he said.
According to the nominee, the IIEC has formed an opinion that “elections should be held in December (next year)” because there are practical impossibilities with the August date due to the lack of time to register a new pool of voters, conduct civic education, draft laws and enable registration of voters in the Kenyan Diaspora.
The nominee claimed that holding the polls in August “will be difficult and chaotic” and estimated that the IEBC will need Sh6 billion to automate the whole voters register in readiness for electronic voting in 2017.
He said IIEC had planned a mock election in Malindi and Kajiado to test the casting of six ballots expected at the next General Election. He also said the IIEC was drawing up lessons from last week’s Kenya Football Federation polls won by Mr Sam Nyamweya, where each voter cast 26 different ballots.
Bill to alter polls date, set gender rule published
Published on 24/10/2011
By Peter Opiyo
A Bill seeking to push the date for next year’s elections to December and address the two-third-gender requirement for elective posts has been published.
The Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) Bill moves the date of the general election from the second Tuesday in August to the third Monday in December.
If approved by Parliament then next year’s elections would be held on December 19. It seeks to amend Articles 101, 136, 177 and 180 to push the elections of the President, MPs, senators, governors and county assembly members to December.
A section of MPs expressed mixed reactions on the matter. ODM Deputy Chief Whip and Mumias MP Benjamin Washiali said he would support the Bill, as having the elections in December would allow the Government to budget for the exercise.
The Independent Boundaries and Electoral Commission (IEBC) has also not been set up and it would require some time to prepare for the elections, he added.
“I am supporting this Bill because we must get time for Parliament to approve the budget for the elections. Besides, the electoral body has not been set up and yet they are supposed to delineate boundaries in readiness for the elections,” said Washiali.
Vice Chairman of the troubled parliamentary Justice and Legal Affairs Committee and Githunguri MP Njoroge Baiya said what matters is not really the date of the elections, but the mechanisms for holding credible polls.
“The most important thing is to have mechanisms in place to hold credible elections to avoid the 2007 debacle. If it turns out that we can’t do that by August, then it does no harm to have the elections in December,” said Baiya.
The Bill requires a two-thirds majority vote in Parliament by MPs to pass. Some MPs, including Gichugu MP Martha Karua, William Ruto (Eldoret North), John Mbadi (Gwasi) and Peter Kenneth (Gatanga) are, however, opposed to the December date.
The proposed law may be introduced in Parliament next week. According to the House rules, Bills can only be introduced in Parliament after 14 days from the date of publication. The Bill was published on October 19.
Gender requirement
However, it will not be debated until after three months from the date of its introduction to Parliament, according to Article 256(1,c) of the Constitution. If introduced next week, then the earliest it can be debated will be February next year.
The Bill also seeks to prevent the names and details of the 80 new constituencies from taking effect after the dissolution of Parliament, proposing instead that they be used only for purposes of the General Election.
In order to address the two-third-gender requirement for elective positions, the Bill proposes that both the Senate and National Assembly have special seats to ensure that not more than two-thirds of members are of the same gender. Once the seats are established, political parties would be required to nominate members after the general election in accordance to the seats they have secured.
Consequently, it amends Articles 97 and 98 to make the gender requirement attainable. There are 47 elective seats reserved for women in the National Assembly while 16 women would by nominated by political parties, according to their strengths to sit in the Senate.
There have been concerns that given the nature of Kenyan politics it would be difficult to attain the two-third-gender requirement in elective positions.
Cabinet met last week to endorse the Bill and instructed Justice Minister Mutula Kilonzo to publish it.
On Monday, Mutula said the Bill is now ready and would be introduced to Parliament according to the rules