The Cord coalition has begun a fresh war against the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on claims that the electoral agency has violated the spirit of the freshly enacted electoral laws.
In a letter addressed to IEBC Chief Executive Officer Ezra Chiloba, Cord CEO Norman Magaya says the commission is already acting with impunity just a few weeks after coming to office.
Mr Magaya faulted the Commission over advocation for amending the law based on what he referred to as “pretentious propositions such as cost implications”.
“In a nutshell and vide this letter, we officially wish to register our displeasure with the manner in which the Commission is executing its functions and warn the Coalition will not hesitate to deploy both political and extra-political as well as legal and extra-legal measures to stamp out this impunity,” warned Magaya.
IEBC Communications manager Andrew Limo has however dismissed Cord accusations where the opposition had claimed IEBC secretly sponsored suits at the High Court to nullify a number of key sections in the electoral laws.
“We have no problem with the new laws. When it raises the budget, it's the national Treasury's responsibility to bridge the gap. When it gives no room for political party nominations disputes, it's the parties themselves that must mitigate the challenge,” Limo said.
However, Cord still insists that IEBC is working on watering down the level of the voter register audit.
“One can only conclude that the Commission is hellbent on mutilating the new laws. In its current form, the draft regulations substantively water down the provisions set out in law both in letter and in spirit,”Magaya said.
The Raila-led outfit also accuses IEBC's procurement system on claims that key electoral materials have been procured before new Commissioners are established into office, something they term as illegal.
“As it is now, IEBC has no Commissioners after the resignation of the nine Commissioners and therefore the procurement being undertaken lacks policy guidance and the same and therefore laden with illegalities,” Magaya stated.