No sign of letup in repeat election row

From left: Nasa presidential candidate Raila Odinga addresses reporters about the tetanus vaccine at Capital Hill, Nairobi, on September 11, 2017. President Uhuru Kenyatta speaks to Kisii and Nyamira counties' delegates at State Lodge, Nakuru County, on September 13, 2017. They have been clashing over the date of the repeat presidential poll.

The battle lines have been drawn. Nasa has said it will not allow a fresh election to be held on October 17.

Jubilee, on the other hand, has challenged the coalition led by Mr Raila Odinga to write formally to the electoral commission and communicate its decision.

“If you’re not participating in polls, have the courtesy not to collect money from supporters,” Jubilee Secretary-General Raphael Tuju said.

BOYCOTT
While challenging Nasa’s position, Mr Tuju said the Supreme Court had directed the commission to conduct a fresh poll in 60 days.

“Is there something Nasa knows about the judgement that we don’t know?” he asked in a statement he sent to the press.

He raised the question a day after one of Nasa’s top leaders, Mr Moses Wetang’ula, said there would be no election as declared by the commission.

“We will not boycott the elections,” Mr Wetang’ula said.

“But we will also not allow an election that does not meet the constitutional threshold.”

BALLOT PAPERS
In the meantime, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), led by Mr Wafula Chebukati, has been powering ahead with preparations for the repeat poll despite protests by the Opposition, which wants the Chebukati team reconstituted.

Only this week, IEBC announced that Al-Ghurair will be printing ballot papers for the fresh election expected to pit President Uhuru Kenyatta of Jubilee against ODM’s Mr Odinga.

Al-Ghurair is the firm controversially awarded the tender to print ballot papers for the annulled poll.

RULING
IEBC has also asked the court to give its final ruling so that it can know where to improve after the judges found that IEBC had committed “irregularities and illegalities”.

However, the commission will have to wait until Tuesday when judges will issue the full ruling.

On the same day, they will also clarify whether Dr Ekuru Aukot, the presidential candidate of the Thirdway Alliance, will be on the ballot.

Should the court allow him to vie, and there is a poll, then the winner must garner 50 percent plus one of the votes.

RUN-OFF

Only then can there be an outright winner.

If no candidate crosses the all-important threshold, then voters would have to go back for a third time and cast their ballots in a run-off.

Which means that it will be weeks — possibly months — before a substantive president can be sworn into office.