Queen V
JF-Expert Member
- Jan 19, 2012
- 775
- 1,332
Maaskofu wa Kanisa Katoliki nchini Kenya wamemtaka Rais Uhuru Kenyatta kutotia saini mabadiliko ya Sheria ya Uchaguzi yaliyopitishwa na wabunge.
Siku ya Alhamisi wabunge wa Kenya walipitisha sheria itakayoruhusu uhesabiwaji wa kura kwa njia ya kawaida pale ambapo mashine za kuhesabia kura zitakwama au kushindwa kufanya kazi hiyo.
Sheria hiyo imepitishwa wakati wabunge wa upinzani wakiwa wamesusia kikao cha bunge ambao walisimama nje ya jengo la bunge wakiwazomea wabunge wa chama tawala cha Jubillee.
Kenya inajiandaa kufanya uchaguzi mkuu mwaka 2017.
=================================
Catholic bishops on Thursday asked President Uhuru Kenyatta not to sign into law the changes that were bulldozed by Jubilee MPs to the law that will govern the 2017 elections.
The bishops said that by doing so, the President will be giving dialogue a chance. They also appealed to Cord and other opposition parties to always give dialogue a chance.
Their calls came as both the ruling and opposition coalitions took hardline positions regarding changes to the election law. Although both sides agreed that some changes might be necessary, they disagreed on how to go about it
Cord has said that the proposed changes should be discussed by the 14-member joint committee that came up with the law in the first place. The 14-member team was led by Senators Kiraitu Murungi and James Orengo.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission also made a similar appeal to give dialogue a chance. In a statement, the commission warned that the grand-standing by the two coalitions was not helping the country.
The bishops’ calls to give dialogue a chance came as the Cord coalition called for mass action from January 4 to reverse the changes, which propose, among other things, a fallback to manual voter identification and results transmission if electronic equipment fails.
The electoral commission particularly expressed concern at the lack of agreement by parties on the changes.
The commission said an earlier meeting of the Justice and Legal Affairs committee on the changes had agreement from Jubilee and Cord, but this changed in Parliament.
“The country is witnessing unwarranted grand-standing among political players on key issues that touch on the electoral process. This is not helpful and will not be helpful,” IEBC said in a statement.
‘BE HOPEFUL’
“It is the duty of each actor, especially political leaders, to give Kenyans reasons to be hopeful with elections. This will require sobriety in debates, tolerance and respect for the rule of law.”
The commission admitted there are various issues of concern, which may include how the commission is constituted and the election laws. But it called for a neutral mediation to solve the impasse.
“What is evident is that there are issues of concern which must be addressed. However, there is no unanimity on the mechanism of addressing them. We support the proposal that a team of non-partisan or bi-partisan actors be at the centre of constructive political dialogue whenever necessary.”
And in their statement, the bishops, through the church’s Justice and Peace Commission said: “We wish to call for dialogue among the political leadership in all processes that are related to elections to minimise mistrust, conflict and possible violence in the 2017 General Election.
“We wish to remind the parliamentarians who are in support of these changes that this goes against the spirit of the jointly negotiated electoral reforms”.
On Thursday, Jubilee-leaning MPs forcibly changed the Elections Act, allowing the electoral commission to use an alternative manual system if the electronic voter identification system collapses.
The passing of the amendments also raised concern from the Central Organisation of Trade Unions whose leaders equally called on the President not to sign the changes into law.
Source: Daily Nation
Siku ya Alhamisi wabunge wa Kenya walipitisha sheria itakayoruhusu uhesabiwaji wa kura kwa njia ya kawaida pale ambapo mashine za kuhesabia kura zitakwama au kushindwa kufanya kazi hiyo.
Sheria hiyo imepitishwa wakati wabunge wa upinzani wakiwa wamesusia kikao cha bunge ambao walisimama nje ya jengo la bunge wakiwazomea wabunge wa chama tawala cha Jubillee.
Kenya inajiandaa kufanya uchaguzi mkuu mwaka 2017.
=================================
Catholic bishops on Thursday asked President Uhuru Kenyatta not to sign into law the changes that were bulldozed by Jubilee MPs to the law that will govern the 2017 elections.
The bishops said that by doing so, the President will be giving dialogue a chance. They also appealed to Cord and other opposition parties to always give dialogue a chance.
Their calls came as both the ruling and opposition coalitions took hardline positions regarding changes to the election law. Although both sides agreed that some changes might be necessary, they disagreed on how to go about it
Cord has said that the proposed changes should be discussed by the 14-member joint committee that came up with the law in the first place. The 14-member team was led by Senators Kiraitu Murungi and James Orengo.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission also made a similar appeal to give dialogue a chance. In a statement, the commission warned that the grand-standing by the two coalitions was not helping the country.
The bishops’ calls to give dialogue a chance came as the Cord coalition called for mass action from January 4 to reverse the changes, which propose, among other things, a fallback to manual voter identification and results transmission if electronic equipment fails.
The electoral commission particularly expressed concern at the lack of agreement by parties on the changes.
The commission said an earlier meeting of the Justice and Legal Affairs committee on the changes had agreement from Jubilee and Cord, but this changed in Parliament.
“The country is witnessing unwarranted grand-standing among political players on key issues that touch on the electoral process. This is not helpful and will not be helpful,” IEBC said in a statement.
‘BE HOPEFUL’
“It is the duty of each actor, especially political leaders, to give Kenyans reasons to be hopeful with elections. This will require sobriety in debates, tolerance and respect for the rule of law.”
The commission admitted there are various issues of concern, which may include how the commission is constituted and the election laws. But it called for a neutral mediation to solve the impasse.
“What is evident is that there are issues of concern which must be addressed. However, there is no unanimity on the mechanism of addressing them. We support the proposal that a team of non-partisan or bi-partisan actors be at the centre of constructive political dialogue whenever necessary.”
And in their statement, the bishops, through the church’s Justice and Peace Commission said: “We wish to call for dialogue among the political leadership in all processes that are related to elections to minimise mistrust, conflict and possible violence in the 2017 General Election.
“We wish to remind the parliamentarians who are in support of these changes that this goes against the spirit of the jointly negotiated electoral reforms”.
On Thursday, Jubilee-leaning MPs forcibly changed the Elections Act, allowing the electoral commission to use an alternative manual system if the electronic voter identification system collapses.
The passing of the amendments also raised concern from the Central Organisation of Trade Unions whose leaders equally called on the President not to sign the changes into law.
Source: Daily Nation