IEBC Commissioners after public hearing on Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2017 and the Election Offences (Amendment) Bill, 2017, October 5, 2017. [Photo|Parliament of Kenya]Jubilee Members of Parliament have dropped three Clauses of the controversial Electoral Laws Amendments 2017, moments before Parliament resumed sitting after 12 days recess Tuesday afternoon.The members who met Tuesday morning at parliament buildings to deliberate over the amendments which have been opposed by Opposition Members, agreed to drop the clauses, following a report by the Joint Select Committee from the National and Senate Assemblies on the Electoral Laws, after public hearings, last weekThe MPs dropped a clause which proposed that the chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) should not be a holder of a degree in Law.They agreed that the IEBC leader should be a person equivalent to a judge of the Supreme Court as the Constitution stipulates, due to the complex legal procedures required to manage an election.The MPs also dropped a clause which proposed slashing of IEBC chairperson's powers to the vice chair.They further dropped another clause that required IEBC's plenary quorum be slashed from five to three commissioners.During public hearings, IEBC Commissioners opposed the three clauses.
Baringo North MP William Cheptumo who co-chaired the select-committee alongside Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo, submitted the report before the National Assembly, during the sitting that was snubbed by Opposition MPs, in protest of the laws.The Select Committee on Election-Related Laws concluded public hearing sessions after receiving submissions from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on the proposed amendments. Other institutions that made submissions include the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) among others.