Informer
JF-Expert Member
- Jul 29, 2006
- 1,599
- 6,669
June 07, 2016
Opposition threatens to increase anti-IEBC protests to twice a week
Opposition leaders Raila Odinga, Moses Wetang'ula and James Orengo, and KANU Secretary General Nick Salat (in red shirt) during yesterday's anti-IEBC protests in Nairobi. CORD now wants the Government to either talk or have the frequency of the protests increased to twice a week. (PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/ STANDARD)
The threat of a long-drawn political crisis deepened yesterday following a new ultimatum from the Opposition to the ruling Jubilee coalition.
CORD now wants the Government to either talk or have the frequency of the protests increased to twice a week.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga, his co-principal Moses Wetang’ula and their troops within CORD also vowed to boycott the polls.
“We want only one voter register as well as other electoral reforms. This is not negotiable,” said Raila when he addressed protesters yesterday in Nairobi.
Mr Wetang’ula said any public institution that has lost public confidence is not worth being in office.
Exhibiting arrogance
“The window for talking is closing by the day. There are those who are exhibiting arrogance instead of room for dialogue. There will be no election until IEBC is reformed,” said Wetang’ula.
The Senate minority leader also took issue with communication firm Safaricom, questioning its role in the last General Election. The company was last year awarded a multi-billion security tender to install cameras in Nairobi and Mombasa cities.
The CORD co-principal also questioned why the Jubilee administration was facilitating registration for Identity Cards and registration of voters in some parts of the country and not in the entire nation.
Raila said the issues the Opposition wants to discuss with the Government include issuance of Identity cards and voter registration so as not to disenfranchise majority of Kenyans who lack IDs.
The Opposition leader also wants only one voter register to be used in next year’s elections.
After holding peaceful demonstrations along the streets of Nairobi, the CORD brigade assembled at Uhuru Park grounds where they gave the Jubilee administration an ultimatum to initiate talks failure to which, they would scale-up the protests to two days a week.
The Opposition vowed to push on with their anti-electoral agency protests until the Jubilee administration agrees to have talks with them over the IEBC stalemate.
Raila said the ills the Opposition has gathered against IEBC on the electoral management failure are enough to send them home.
CORD no longer wants talks against the embattled electoral commissioners to be only about their exit, but also to include comprehensive reforms in the electoral agency.
Kanu Secretary General Nick Salat reminded Jubilee leadership that they should not keep on lecturing people about following the Constitution.
“They should not keep on preaching to us to follow the Constitution because if we really followed Chapter Six of it, they would not be in office today,” said Mr Salat.
The Opposition said the Constitution was clear about demonstrations and no amount of intimidation would cow them.
Opposition threatens to increase anti-IEBC protests to twice a week
Opposition leaders Raila Odinga, Moses Wetang'ula and James Orengo, and KANU Secretary General Nick Salat (in red shirt) during yesterday's anti-IEBC protests in Nairobi. CORD now wants the Government to either talk or have the frequency of the protests increased to twice a week. (PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/ STANDARD)
The threat of a long-drawn political crisis deepened yesterday following a new ultimatum from the Opposition to the ruling Jubilee coalition.
CORD now wants the Government to either talk or have the frequency of the protests increased to twice a week.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga, his co-principal Moses Wetang’ula and their troops within CORD also vowed to boycott the polls.
“We want only one voter register as well as other electoral reforms. This is not negotiable,” said Raila when he addressed protesters yesterday in Nairobi.
Mr Wetang’ula said any public institution that has lost public confidence is not worth being in office.
Exhibiting arrogance
“The window for talking is closing by the day. There are those who are exhibiting arrogance instead of room for dialogue. There will be no election until IEBC is reformed,” said Wetang’ula.
The Senate minority leader also took issue with communication firm Safaricom, questioning its role in the last General Election. The company was last year awarded a multi-billion security tender to install cameras in Nairobi and Mombasa cities.
The CORD co-principal also questioned why the Jubilee administration was facilitating registration for Identity Cards and registration of voters in some parts of the country and not in the entire nation.
Raila said the issues the Opposition wants to discuss with the Government include issuance of Identity cards and voter registration so as not to disenfranchise majority of Kenyans who lack IDs.
The Opposition leader also wants only one voter register to be used in next year’s elections.
After holding peaceful demonstrations along the streets of Nairobi, the CORD brigade assembled at Uhuru Park grounds where they gave the Jubilee administration an ultimatum to initiate talks failure to which, they would scale-up the protests to two days a week.
The Opposition vowed to push on with their anti-electoral agency protests until the Jubilee administration agrees to have talks with them over the IEBC stalemate.
Raila said the ills the Opposition has gathered against IEBC on the electoral management failure are enough to send them home.
CORD no longer wants talks against the embattled electoral commissioners to be only about their exit, but also to include comprehensive reforms in the electoral agency.
Kanu Secretary General Nick Salat reminded Jubilee leadership that they should not keep on lecturing people about following the Constitution.
“They should not keep on preaching to us to follow the Constitution because if we really followed Chapter Six of it, they would not be in office today,” said Mr Salat.
The Opposition said the Constitution was clear about demonstrations and no amount of intimidation would cow them.
