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Bomachoge voters could wait longer for by-election

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Published on Tuesday, 30 December 2008 22:02
Parliament’s failure to include a transition clause implies that by-elections cannot be held until a new electoral body has put all mechanisms in place. Therefore, Bomachoge constituents might have to wait a little longer before electing a new MP.

The Constitution of Kenya Amendment Bill (2008) is silent on who runs electoral matters immediately the ECK has been disbanded. According to the new Act, ECK Chairman Samuel Kivuitu will cease to be in charge of elections when the President assents to the Bill. As is the tradition, the ECK organises a by-election three months after a court order to do so or when a member dies.

The new Act gave Parliament a leeway to establish a new Interim Independent Electoral Commission, which will be in office for 15 months. The team is expected to come up with a new voters’ register. However, Lawyer Paul Muite said the new electoral body is not barred from using the existing voters’ register. The Kriegler Commission recommended that this register be done away with.


"When the new team assumes office, they will have to take over all the responsibilities of the disbanded commission. But it is unfortunate that Parliament failed to include a transition provision to avoid a vacuum as is the case now" said the former Kabete MP. Mr Muite said Parliament overlooked creating a transition clause for constitutional office holders.

The High Court last week nullified Joel Onyancha’s election but absolved him from any blame. The former Bomachoge MP says he would appeal against the judgment. Justice Daniel Musinga found the conduct of the Bomachoge constituency Returning Officer wanting and nullified the results he declared.

Mr Musinga found Onyancha innocent of any wrongdoing and ordered ECK to pay the suit’s costs. Onyancha said he was consulting with his lawyers with a view of proceeding to the Court of Appeal. "A precedent has been set that I have lost my seat on a mistake committed by the ECK. It is on that contradiction that I feel I should proceed to the Court of Appeal," Onyancha told The Standard yesterday. For the period that Bomachoge will not have MP, a number of development projects might stall, especially in cases where the former MP’s signature is required.