Lets consider the ramifications.
We have 59 days within which to prepare and hold a fresh election following Supreme Court orders of yesterday as they nullified 8817 presidential election results.
Subsequently, as a nation we got issues!
Time is of the essence.
At this stage, we are working with very limited details as given/not given by the Supreme Court in regard to the whys, hows and the whats exactly contributed to the wanting integrity of the process that are significant enough to cause doubt to the overall integrity of the final result.
In view of the above, regardless of our individual political persuasions we have some homework to deal with.
As patriotic and responsible citizens we need to ask ourselves;
- Is it reasonable to expect an overhaul of IEBC before the election inside 59 days.
- Is calling for removal of IEBC commissioners, the CEO and other high ranking Secretariat staff justifiable at this stage!
- Did Uhuru’s utterances of yesterday - during his impromptu public rally - amount to a direct threat, to unleash political pressure on SCORK if he is re-elected!
- Will the procurement process for ballot paper result in endless contestations and acrimony!
- Are we likely to be faced with multiple law suits filed by politicians and or their cohorts, targeted at IEBC in relation to preparations for this poll – bogging the electoral body down!
- Arising from time constraints, the IEBC should start the preparations for the poll immediately, but in the absence of the detailed ruling, they are essentially groping in the dark. Once that detailed ruling is out, possibly in 20 days, the IEBC might have to re-set their preparations – a possible further loss of time!
- Since IEBC has to hire a multitude of new staff every time there is a countrywide poll, does it mean that a few mistakes by ‘some’ presiding officers (PO) - the persons handling forms 34A,- might result to nullification of Presidential elections!
- What happens if one of the major coalitions sticks to the demand that the IEBC commissioners, the CEO, the head of ICT dept etc, must be removed or otherwise not be involved in this fresh poll. Suppose those officers in return refuse to go and demand to be removed as per law established!
- Is there a chance that the outcome of the fresh election might end up being even messier in similar or even more varied ways than the nullified one!
- If that be so, what position would the Supreme Court take after someone places a petition before them seeking a nullification of the fresh poll they ordered!! Would it be tenable for them to call for a further! What an awkward position would that be for them and by extension, the Country!
- Suppose all goes as per plan, do we expect a fundamentally different result from what was declared by IEBC on 11th Aug 2017, and is SCORK reputation unwittingly predicated on that!
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And so on and so forth.
Isuni yilu yi maa me muyo - ni Mbisuu