Kenya: Under fire, electoral board agrees to step down

By Magdalene Mukami

NAIROBI, Kenya

After a months-long stalemate, Kenya’s electoral commissioners Wednesday finally gave in to opposition pressure to step down.

“We are not going to be a stumbling block to electoral reforms,” Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chair Issack Hassan told a joint parliamentary committee probing opposition allegations against the commissioners.

After a closed-door meeting with the committee, made up of six members each from the ruling Jubilee party and the opposition, Hassan said that they were ready to voluntarily leave office as long as they are awarded a negotiated settlement.

This April, Raila Odinga, leader of the opposition Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD), called for the commissioners to resign ahead of the 2017 elections, and the former Kenyan prime minister accused the commission of planning to rig the elections in favor of current President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Hassan asked the committee to see to it that they are guaranteed immunity from prosecution and that the commission’s staff is retained, as the staff is experienced and ready for the 2017 General Election.

Starting in April, opposition-organized protests calling for the resignation of the commissioners resulted in death, destruction, and injuries.

On May 23, when the protests turned violent, three people were killed by police, and dozens shot by the police were hospitalized for injuries.