A group of ward representatives allied to Nyamira County Assembly have termed the decision by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to set August 2017 as the date for next general election as a breach of contract and called for its review.
Led by Gesima ward MCA Ken Atuti, they challenged the IEBC to respect the constitution by allowing all elected leaders who assumed office after the 2013 polls to complete their term in March 2018, when their five-year constitutional term ends.
Atuti said they will be forced to seek judicial review on the matter if the electoral body fails to extend their term as provided in the constitution.
“Kenyans voted for the constitution overwhelmingly and we will not just sit back watching people who are out to mutilate it. We signed a five-year contract and as per the law, we should be vacating office in March 2018, and that is crystal clear. If they (IEBC) want us to seek judicial review, we are ready,” Atuti said.
His Nyansiongo ward counterpart Jackson Mogusu said the decision by the commission to hold elections in 2017 would see taxpayers pay for undone work for all elected leaders since their term expires in 2018.
“Our five-year contract will end in March 2018 and anything against that will be a breach of contract whose consequences are well known. Otherwise we can still allow elections to take place next year but the termination of contract must be paid as per the law,” he said.
Mr Ben Sironga of Rigoma dismissed speculations that they were afraid of polls, saying most of them would still recapture their seats based of ‘prolific’ development record.
“I hear some of aspirants saying some of us are afraid of the polls. That isn’t the case, all we want is respect for the law. Otherwise, most of MCAs from Nyamira will successfully defend their seats due to prolific work we have done,” he said.
The three were addressing residents of Rigoma on Tuesday during a mobilisation exercise aiming at ensuring more people register as voters.