My thoughts...
I have very much followed the court ruling and proceedings that led to invalidation and annulment of the last presidential elections;
These are
quite agreeable issues from the ruling;
1) That a FRESH election be held within 60 days from the date of the ruling.
2) That the IEBC conduct the said elections as per 1) above.
3) That the above 1) and 2) above be done according to the rule of law and the constitution.
Now here is where things get
"thick"/Disagreement start to all the stake holders (IEBC/NASA/Jubilee/Voters etc)
As per above my humble understanding is this;
1)That a FRESH election be held within 60 days from the date of the ruling.
That Fresh election according to the constitution ,is that all presidential contestants are allowed to vie and those who are willing not to vie can withdraw and support (Though not a must) other candidates. In so doing their names won't be in the ballot.
The 2013 decision that seems to be the one informed the IEBC on having two candidates can't really stand in law. Reason the constitution state as follows;
I believe it's under article 2,4 of the Chapter One - Sovereignty of the People and Supremacy of this Constitution
"Any law, including customary law, that is inconsistent with this Constitution is void to the extent of the inconsistency, and any act or omission in contravention of this Constitution is invalid."
Hence any way you look at it the IEBC are really not reading the law as it ought to.
2) That the IEBC conduct the said elections as per 1) above.
My court interpretation is that the IEBC should hold the election within 60 days. What stakeholders fails to realize is that the court directed the IEBC as an institution as mandated under the constitution. Hence the commissioners and the secretariat are just a component of the IEBC. Hence all stake holders including NASA are aware that removing the commissioners is a tall order unless voluntary through resignation. What Jubilee is arguing that the IEBC as currently constituted can't be touched is very misleading ,as even Chebukati have indicated that the secretariat and their systems needs evaluation and changes made where needed. The criteria of the same is what the stakeholders should be looking at openly and objectively.
3) That the above 1) and 2) above be done according to the rule of law and the constitution.
I think the law is very clear as well as the constitution. The IEBC should just follow what the laws says regardless whether the full ruling is released yet by the supreme court .what am really lost on is the IEBC lack of leadership when under scrutiny to do the right thing. I highlight their failure...
1) If they/their lawyers have no clear direction on the ruling,they could have filed for the same under the supreme court before subjecting the country to a circus. (This begs the question ,is it the IEBC lawyers do not understand what is the rule of the law and what the constitution says?)
2) Being an independent body ,they also need to carry the mandate as per the rule of law and constitution.One of the election act
contemplates inclusion of the stakeholders on the process of the election. They have failed to do that by just announcing a date
without consultation with atleast key players/those interested to hear their reasoning. Then what will they do,is to intimate they are not been given space to carry out their mandate. That's a lot of "madness",as ignorance can't be justified by not doing the right thing in the first place.
I believe the whole saga on this pre-election,election and post election period lies on the fact that ,the government of the day (Jubilee) doesn't appreciate the constitution and powers it gives it's citizenry who includes political players like NASA and the Judiciary and the citizen. This is complicated by IEBC who seem to be ignorant of their mandate as per the dictates of the constitution.This has resulted to unfolding events which will ultimately lead to one thing only.
"Regardless of who you are,your position or personality etc
until you can follow the laid down law and the constitution,you are just yapping and wasting Kenyans time and resources ". Hence whether you are Jubilee or Nasa supporter. Kindly lets the Kenya constitution guide us and avoid side shows!
Apologies for the long post!
Live your life well, don't settle nor conform to people expectations. It's one of the best way to live life full of bliss and contentment.