The Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) is in the news again for all the right reasons and emitting the best possible vibes.
After successfully overseeing several by-elections and a national referendum, the team is looking forward to another by-election in Kirinyaga Central Constituency on February 16.
Commission chairman Isaack Hassan has fired a warning to political parties intending to field candidates to follow the electoral code of conduct to the letter lest their charges be disqualified.
This is itself not news. Of significance is the unambiguous message being sent out: Kenyans overwhelmingly voted on August 4 for a new constitutional dispensation, carved from the mahogany of integrity and varnished it with undying optimism.
If anyone thinks this is all mere political rhetoric from Mr Issack's team, consider the following.
The courts are clogged with cases that should not have reached there in the first place. If a people indeed deserve the leaders they vote for, how come voters do not interrogate "suitability" of the candidates before casting ballots?
Cash cow
Why are Press reports replete with stories of thievish, myopic, leaders with a mindset steeped in considerations of "my tribe, my people... our tun to eat" rather than nationalistic concerns? How come even envoys accredited to Kenya fear to entrust their taxpayers' funds to programmes headed by many of our leaders?
Why is a grassroots-driven programme like Constituency Development Fund a cash cow for elected leaders and their appointees despite its global acclaim? It is not too much to allow IIEC vet the integrity of candidates before they are unleashed on ballot papers.
Source: The Standard | Online Edition
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