Government must move with speed and repeat the census exercise in the eight districts whose results were cancelled because the data defied common sense.
This should happen to prevent politicians from using it as a bargaining chip to blackmail the Government. Even more importantly, setting a date for a recount would allay fears that the Government is keen on perpetuating what many in the region see as over 40 years of injustice bred by marginalisation.
Most of the areas affected are in Northern Kenya although parts of the North Rift are included. It was unfortunate that some MPs from affected areas have opted to reject a repeat count and even threatened to go to court to block it.
It appears that some were hoping to use the census to influence the creation of new constituencies. That is wrong. The mandate for reviewing constituency boundaries is the sole preserve of the Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission (IIBRC) and not politicians. Population is just one of the factors it is using to determine the number of constituencies; the other is geography.
It is wrong to rush and accuse the Government of bad faith, yet the reasons the Planning ministry has given for its action are sound, and one month is enough for the exercise to be completed and the results collated.
However, the fear is that the IIBRC is supposed to complete its work by December, and unless the Government moves fast on the recount, these areas may have to wait for its successor to be constituted before their cases are reviewed.
The MPs should push for the recount and insist on proper monitoring of the exercise. Their claim that the cancellation tainted the integrity of the entire count is rubbish.
Source: The Standard | Online Edition
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