IEBC Commissioners retreat to tame infighting

IEBC Commissioners are set to go on a two-day retreat starting Sunday  in a bid to end infighting within the Commission.

The retreat comes amid sharp divisions in the electoral body after Chairman Wafula Chebukati sidelined CEO Ezra Chiloba and formed a seven-member special project team to handle next month’s repeat presidential election.

The Commission’s sharp division was also apparent after Chebukati’s damning 12-point memo blaming Chiloba for the systemic flaws that led to nullification of last month’s presidential election leaked.

On Friday, the Commission Plenary was holed up in a meeting for hours where the top officials agreed on a ceasefire to prepare for the presidential election rerun.

The seven-member special project team named by Chebukati to handle next month’s repeat presidential election has also been opposed by three IEBC Commissioners and President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party.

In the new changes Chebukati named Chiloba’s deputy Marjan Hussein as the project coordinator while Albert Gogo was named new head of ICT, taking over from James Muhati.

The Commission has, however, indicated that the Supreme Court will give directions on whether other presidential candidates will take part in the repeat presidential election other than President Uhuru Kenyatta and NASA’s Raila Odinga.