2:26:00 PM
Electoral
chiefs from the East African Community (EAC) have counselled Kenya’s
Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to uphold the
principles of democracy for credible 4 March 2013 polls.
The Electoral heads are meeting in Nairobi, Kenya to review the draft EAC Principles for Election Observation and Evaluation in the Partners. If adopted by the EAC Council next week, Kenya will be the first beneficiary of the document.
‘’The challenges are enormous but we are confident that the Kenya elections will be a success story,’’ the delegates stated in their separate remarks.
They also called for peaceful polls in Kenya, saying that Nairobi’s smooth conduct of the elections would have a positive impact on the region.
However, Head of Burundi delegation Ambassador Pierre Clavier called on the political parties to demonstrate tolerance during the electoral process and announcement of results.
“Democracy is suffering because political parties’ leaders do not appreciate and embrace political competition,’’ he told the delegates, which included Registrars of political parties, lawyers, activists, human rights experts, journalists and government policy officers.
Clavier, who is the Chairperson of the Burundi Electoral body, added that domestic and international observers play a key role during elections because they are on the ground and create confidence among political party leaders, voters and civil society.
Rwanda’s Secretary Charles Munyaneza called for deployment of long term observers for elections in order to provide deeper analysis of the process. He also recommended that the Partner States finance the elections from their own resources in order to own them.
EAC Deputy Secretary General in-charge of Political Federation Dr Julius Rotich said Kenya must take all steps to avoid the pitfalls that led to the 2007 post-election violence, paralysing operations in the country and trade within the five-member bloc.
“You cannot do anything if you don’t have proper elections. In 2007-2008 we were paralysed, and we would really like to avoid such situations in any partner state.”
“If there is disruption in any partner state then the whole EAC is disrupted” he said, adding that EAC fully supports smooth and peaceful elections in Kenya.
He told the delegates that the development of the draft EAC Principles on election observation was a positive move towards having a common regional instrument for assessing the legitimacy and credibility of elections.
‘’Once the draft is considered and adopted, it will serve as a tool in guiding elections in EAC Partner States,’’ he said.
The Chairperson of the meeting, who is also the Vice Chairperson of the Kenya IEBC Lillian Mahiri-Zaja said it was worthwhile to learn from the experiences of other EAC partner states on elections.
She said Kenya was now operating under the new constitution and the next year’s challenge is a serious test for the country’s democracy. “The March polls will be a litmus test on how it [constitution] is being implemented’’, she said.
The meeting has been technically and financially supported by the UNDP Regional Office.
The Electoral heads are meeting in Nairobi, Kenya to review the draft EAC Principles for Election Observation and Evaluation in the Partners. If adopted by the EAC Council next week, Kenya will be the first beneficiary of the document.
‘’The challenges are enormous but we are confident that the Kenya elections will be a success story,’’ the delegates stated in their separate remarks.
They also called for peaceful polls in Kenya, saying that Nairobi’s smooth conduct of the elections would have a positive impact on the region.
However, Head of Burundi delegation Ambassador Pierre Clavier called on the political parties to demonstrate tolerance during the electoral process and announcement of results.
“Democracy is suffering because political parties’ leaders do not appreciate and embrace political competition,’’ he told the delegates, which included Registrars of political parties, lawyers, activists, human rights experts, journalists and government policy officers.
Clavier, who is the Chairperson of the Burundi Electoral body, added that domestic and international observers play a key role during elections because they are on the ground and create confidence among political party leaders, voters and civil society.
Rwanda’s Secretary Charles Munyaneza called for deployment of long term observers for elections in order to provide deeper analysis of the process. He also recommended that the Partner States finance the elections from their own resources in order to own them.
EAC Deputy Secretary General in-charge of Political Federation Dr Julius Rotich said Kenya must take all steps to avoid the pitfalls that led to the 2007 post-election violence, paralysing operations in the country and trade within the five-member bloc.
“You cannot do anything if you don’t have proper elections. In 2007-2008 we were paralysed, and we would really like to avoid such situations in any partner state.”
“If there is disruption in any partner state then the whole EAC is disrupted” he said, adding that EAC fully supports smooth and peaceful elections in Kenya.
He told the delegates that the development of the draft EAC Principles on election observation was a positive move towards having a common regional instrument for assessing the legitimacy and credibility of elections.
‘’Once the draft is considered and adopted, it will serve as a tool in guiding elections in EAC Partner States,’’ he said.
The Chairperson of the meeting, who is also the Vice Chairperson of the Kenya IEBC Lillian Mahiri-Zaja said it was worthwhile to learn from the experiences of other EAC partner states on elections.
She said Kenya was now operating under the new constitution and the next year’s challenge is a serious test for the country’s democracy. “The March polls will be a litmus test on how it [constitution] is being implemented’’, she said.
The meeting has been technically and financially supported by the UNDP Regional Office.
Dar Es Salaam Time
By Correspondent