Ruto, Raila talks created a constitutional vacuum in the IEBC recruitment process; High Court
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High Court orders immediate recruitment of new IEBC commissioners after the process was halted during Ruto-Raila talks
High Court orders immediate recruitment of new IEBC commissioners after the process was halted during Ruto-Raila talks
The High Court’s decision to order the immediate recruitment of new IEBC Commissioners has exposed the constitutional vacuum that the talks between Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition party and Kenya Kwanza created in the name of a political truce.
Judge Mugure Thande of the High Court ruled that the political ceasefire does not supersede the Constitution.
According to constitutional lawyers, the nation is facing a constitutional crisis because the IEBC is supposed to begin and finish delineating borders by the end of this month.
The existing IEBC Selection Panel has been instructed by Justice Thande to act quickly and appoint new Commissioners, including their Chair.
“I reject the notion that the political question doctrine should override the very explicit constitutional provisions and that the prevailing circumstances should be allowed to infringe on the rights enshrined in the Constitution,” the judge ruled.
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Justice Thande further said in her ruling that the intervention of the court is therefore justified more so because the bi-partisan talks are, to the best of her knowledge, not anchored in either the Constitution or the law.
The process was put on hold following the constitution of the bi-partisan talks where both Azimio and Kenya Kwanza fronted talks teams seeking to find among others the best formula to replace ousted and retired Commissioners.
The High Court’s decision was brought about by a case filed by Adan Mohamed who claimed that failure to recruit IEBC Commissioners in time had violated the rights of constituents who were to hold by-elections, for instance, Banisa Constituency after the MP died in March last year.
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