Every Five Years, Kenyans go to the Polls with uncertainity always rife as to whether the Polls will turn out peaceful or not.
Recently, the polls have turned violent with one camp always accusing the other of rigging the polls after colluding with the Electoral Commission of the day.
The Kenyans Elections are actually the most contested in the World. Electoral process in Kenya is one serious business that always draws the attention of almost all Kenyans with many always keen to be part of history.
Recent events have however proved to be the last straw to a number of Kenyans with many of them vowing to never take part in Elections due to the fact that their voice is always not heard despite the fact that they make an effort to have it heard through the ballot.
With this in mind, it is very clear that there is a problem, a problem that needs to get fixed.
According to IEBC, “the winner takes it all” system is the root cause of divisive election in Kenya.
“This system has been inherited from the colonial regime and has existed in Kenya for decades. It’s opined that it’s the root cause of our highly divisive elections…it is our view that a panacea to such divisive elections should be explored,” Said IEBC, decrying that Kenyan politics is high octane, laced with personalised and ethnicised attacks.
“By the time Kenyans go to the polls, the social fabric that underpins patriotism and brotherhoods is completely broken. What is often left is a highly poisoned and polarised political environment where acceptance of the outcome of a free and fair credible election by the electorate and the political class is a tall order,” they noted.
Part of the IEBC proposal is to enhance the time for the hearing of presidential poll petition from 14 days to 30 days.
IEBC has in the past said that their failure to open the server during the 2017 presidential poll petition that partly contributed to the nullification of Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory was due to time constraints.
The IEBC bosses also said the country need to enact timelines within which pre-election disputes, including procurement-related suits. These must be determined to avoid disputes dragging too close to the polls.
The IEBC team was presenting it’s proposals on Electoral Reforms to the Building Bridges Initiative Committee.