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Electoral Commission Opposed to Use of GSU At Poll
- Details
- Published on Monday, 23 July 2007 00:20
Commission chairman Samuel Kivuitu said yesterday that deploying the General Service Unit to the area could cause panic and jeopardise the credibility of the exercise.
He has, however, clarified that it was the Government's discretion to use "appropriate measures" to contain violence.
Mr. Kivuitu was addressing representatives of political parties fielding candidates in the parliamentary by-elections in South Mugirango and Kapenguria and 42 civic seats countrywide. Sixteen parties attended.
Two deputy commissioners of police, Mr. John Onono and Mr. Peter Mbuvi, also attended.
The meeting at the Old Chamber, Parliament Buildings, was punctuated by temper outbursts and cross-party accusations.
Opposition parties have accused Kanu of using the provincial administration to win parliamentary seats. The commission was placed in the dock for alleged "inertia", and challenged to explain the Government's resolve to deploy the dreaded paramilitary GSU to South Mugirango.
The demands were sparked by West Mugirango MP Henry Obwocha (Ford-K), who said no violence had been reported during the campaigns and there was no need to use the GSU. The work of maintaining peace during the by-election, he added, should be left to the regular police.
Said the Ford-K organising secretary: "There is no way regular police can fail to contain violence. Once you involve the GSU, you are giving them a blanket to come and rape my daughter and mother."
On Monday, Gucha District Commissioner Hassan Noor and local police boss Burudi Makokha said the GSU would supplement normal police duties.
Mr. Kivuitu frowned on the proposal, but did not rule out the possibility of the paramilitary force being used should violence erupt during the South Mugirango poll.
He added: "The presence of the GSU in an area is very intimidating and could compromise the rights of voters and candidates in respect to election campaigns. The GSU should only be deployed where there is complete breakdown of law and order."
He was supported by Mr. Onono, the director of operations at Police Headquarters, who said Vigilance House was unaware of the GSU presence in South Mugirango.
Ford-People leader Kimani Wanyoike said Mr. Okemo's pledges to South Mugirango residents amounted to bribery and intimidation.
Education Minister Kalonzo Musyoka and the second Kanu national vice- chairman, Dr Njoroge Mungai, were at pains to absolve the ruling party of blame.
Mr. Musyoka, the party's organising secretary, said Kanu was committed to peaceful elections but claimed there were indications the South Mugirango election will be violent.
He cited the stoning of Cabinet Minister Sam Ongeri during the burial of immediate former MP Enock Magara as a sign of violence.
In Webuye, a member of the Electoral Commission, Mr. Jack Tumwa, said it was shocking for the Government to deploy the GSU in South Mugirango.
He criticised Finance Minister Chris Okemo for promising electricity to South Mugirango "to influence the poll".
And Dr Mungai said Kanu had not asked any chief to campaign for its candidates in the by-elections, and asked the ECK to take appropriate action against the culprits.
The National Development Party accused the ECK of promoting violence by applying double standards.
NDP secretary-general Abisai Angote took issue with the Commission for calling off elections in Kisumu's Railway ward following the death of a Kanu candidate.
"It's paradoxical to speak about violence when it is instigated by the ECK," he said.
His party's executive director, Mr. John Kiema, gave an example from the 1997 General Election when polling went on in Oruba Ward, Migori Town, despite the death of an NDP candidate, who won posthumously.
Mr. Kivuitu referred them to the Local Authorities Act which he said allowed the ECK to call off elections where a candidate died before the polling day.
Undeterred, a fuming Mr. Kiema posed: "Where was that Act in 1997?"
But Mr. Kivuitu maintained his ground, saying the law must be respected.
In Kisii, the Ford Kenya candidate in the South Mugirango by-election Mr. James Omingo Magara claimed that some presiding officers appointed for the January 12 poll were main supporters of the Kanu candidate.
Mr. Magara, who is the younger brother of the late Enock Magara said the action was a deliberate attempt at rigging in Mr. David Kombo as they were either his relatives or his campaign officials.
However, the returning officer Mr. Stephen Miriti Muguna denied the claims and said the interview of the presiding officers, their deputies and clerks were done openly at Nyamarambe Town Council with the constituency.
He said the selection and appointment of the returning officers had been done by a team from the electoral commission headquarters. "We recruited people from the whole constituency according to their qualification and experience and particularly those who had worked with the ECK before," he said.
Mr. Muguna announced the vote counting exercise will be conducted at Nduru Secondary School.There are a total of 50 polling stations at which 36,000 registered voters will cast their votes.
Mr. Magara also accused Kanu MPs and ministers on the campaign trail of offering empty promises which they could not fulfil.
"How can a party that has been in power for over 30 years promise to deliver development?" he said.
Mr. Magara also demanded fair coverage of the campaign, saying that all the10 candidates needed fair equal media coverage and not just a skewed coverage in favour of ministers.
He accused the Kenya Broadcasting Cooperation of being partisan in favour of the Kanu candidate. He said this negated the Interparties Parliamentary Reform Group law that directed KBC to offer equal coverage of elections.
Mr. Magara, a former Kenya Revenue Authority staffer, commended the residents in the area for demonstrating a high degree of of discipline during the campaigns.
