CORD wants religious leaders to help resolve electoral law stalemate

A section of Western Kenya Members of Parliament now want the religious leaders to take a central role in resolving the current stalemate on the electoral laws.

Funyula Member of Parliament, Paul Otuoma, and his Butula counterpart, Michael Onyura, want religious leaders to help in reconciling the warring Jubilee and Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) factions following the move by National Assembly to amend the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2015.

Legislators allied to the Jubilee coalition agreed to review the electoral laws to re-introduce the manual voter identification and election results transmission in cases where the electronic system fails in a vote boycotted by the opposition.

The amendments to the election laws have been a centre of contention with both sides pointing fingers at each other for being insincere about the process.

Otuoma and Onyura now say that the religious leaders should take the lead role in bringing the President Uhuru Kenyatta-led side and that led by Raila Odinga together to discuss the best way out of the stalemate.

The leaders accused the Jubilee administration of trying to mutilate a law that was reached after negotiations by the James Orengo and Kiraitu Murungi-led teams.

Otuma challenged the Senate to carefully consider the law before taking a vote when it convenes for a special sitting on Wednesday, December 28.

Speaking separately in Siaya, Rarieda Member of Parliament, Nicholas Gumbo, said the Jubilee government and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) should stop lying to Kenyan that the only way to back an electronic voter identification and election results transmission was through the manual system.

Gumbo said only 17 percent of Kenya is not covered by 3G Internet Network saying that there is no place in Kenya that cannot work with the available GSM technology and that satellite technology was also an alternative for transmission of results.