KIBAKI MAY BE IN OFFICE UP TO MID NEXT YEAR
Sunday, 18 March 2012 23:55 BY NZAU MUSAU
MORE TIME: President Mwai Kibaki
A little known clause in the constitution guarantees that President Kibaki might remain in office as late as August next year. The clause says the president will hold office for a term beginning on the date he was sworn in and only ending when a new president is sworn into office. This means that if the elections are held on March 4th, 2013 as announced by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission on Saturday, the new president can expect to be sworn in later that month. That is assuming there is a clear winner and nobody files a petition against the president-elect. If there is a petition, there will be a seven-day period to allow for any filing of such a petition. The Supreme Court will then have 14 days to dispense with such a petition.
If the elections are held on the date decided by the IEBC and there is no clear winner, there will be a run-off election held within 30 days. In case there is no petition, then the president- elect will be sworn in late April. If there is a petition, the swearing in will be in May to give the Supreme Court time to dispense with the petition.
In case the results of the presidential election are nullified in a petition, fresh elections will have to be held in 60 days. In case this happens and depending on the circumstances of the nullification and outcome of the new election, then President Kibaki is likely to remain in office as late as August or September when whoever is declared the winner is sworn in.
Saturday's decision by the IEBC complies with the January 13 constitutional court ruling which proposed a March 2012 election date unless the two principals-President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga- confirmed in writing their decision to dissolve the coalition. An appeal against this decision is expected to be delivered tomorrow.
Yesterday, the realities of the consequences of the March 4th election date dawned on the ODM which has now threatened to go to court to declare the IEBC decision unconstitutional.
Raila insisted that the Cabinet had settled on December 17th 2012 as the appropriate date for the polls to allow Parliament to finalise the pending budgetary bills which are before the House. He said the date announced by the IEBC was not acceptable because it would technically 'eat' into the term of the next Parliament. Constitutional Implementation and Oversight Committee Abdikadir Mohamed has severally rejected this argument saying the constitutional clause that general elections-other than the forthcoming one- will be held on the second Tuesday of August of every fifth year.
Four ODM MPs Jakoyo Midiwo (Gem), John Mbadi (Gwasi), Nicholas Gumbo (Rarieda) and Edwin Yinda(Alego-Usonga) also accused IEBC of being compromised by PNU. "ODM will go to court to stop the move," Midiwo said. He claimed that the IEBC should only have set the election date after the two principals agreed to dissolve the coalition. The January 13 ruling by Justices Isaac Lenaola, David Majanja and Mumbi Ngugi sealed off any opportunity of either the PNU or ODM top decision making organs to walk out of the coalition.
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