A parliamentary committee has adopted a report, which may finally seal the electoral vacuum that has faced the country over the last four months.
The report by the Parliamentary Select Committee on the Constitutional Review asks Parliament to adopt the proposed interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) and pass it to President Kibaki and Prime Minister Rails Odinga for appointment. According to PSC vice-chairman Ababa Namwamba, all the nine IIEC commissioners were selected through consensus and the committee was hoping that Parliament would adopt it fully.
The Budalang’i MP noted that the report would be tabled in the House Immediately Parliament reconvenes next.week. “We believe Parliament will adopt the report to enable us to put in place the IIEC so that we can move forwar with this process,” Mr Namwarriba said. If endorsed by Parliament, 39- -old city lawyer Issack Hassan will spearhead electoral reforms in the country: The eight proposed IIEC commissioners are Tiyah Galgalo (Eastern), Haman Adan (North Eastern), Kenneth Nyaundi (Nyanza), Yusuf Naibo (Nairobi), Winfred Guchu (Central), Davis Chirchir (Rift Valley), Douglas Mwashigadi (Coast) and Abiud Wekesa (Western). An attempt to constitute the electoral body failed last February when the nomination of Cecil Miller was rejected.
