NASA leaders. [Photo/The Star]
NASA team has stormed out of IEBC meeting at the Bomas of Kenya complaining of election amendment bill in parliament to strike off the power of IEBC chair.
"You cannot change the rules of the game at halftime. Chairman Chebukati is a lonely figure at the Commission. The new law will tie his and other commissioners' hands at the back," said Orengo.
"This bill is panning the electoral process to be manual, yet judge Kriegler said this was the recipe for chaos in 2007. Because of the insensitivity of the Jubilee team led by President Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya may turn to Venezuela a nation that has shambolic and sham elections but we have the resilience of the Kenyan people in resisting autocracy and authoritarian rule then let them be prepared to face the wrath of the people," he added.
The Speaker Justin Muturi has allowed the motion to amend election laws. The new laws will not allow the use of the electronic voting system.
Lead by Siaya Senator James Orengo and NASA CEO Norman Magaya, the leaders blamed a section of IEBC commissioners of working in favor of Jubilee. Magaya claimed that Jubilee is arm-twisting IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati.
"Jubilee has a preferred commissioner for the elections, you can't micromanage the commission, perhaps the life of the chairman is not assured because the regime does not want him there," said Magaya.
Magaya said Jubilee should not sit pretty thinking they can 'steal' elections again because NASA has a secret strategy he called a bombshell.
"The complimentary system was a Jubilee idea, they have gone further to alter it today, what they want is printed registers at the polling stations today all the ghost voters must be in the streets celebrating, we are telling Jubilee you think you will get away with this but we have a bombshell awaiting them they will not take us to any other elections that is consistent with our 2010 Constitution," he added.
This comes a day after the Chebukati led negotiations collapsed on Wednesday.
However, Senator Kithure Kindiki who is representing the Jubilee team said the meeting did go on because of NASA's hardline stands.
"Our own view is that NASA has introduced another irreducible minimum, we also want to commit that we remain fully engaged and working with IEBC to ensure the October 26 polls are held," said Kindiki.
"Our friends have aborted the meeting themselves. We cannot allow one person to intimidate the country," he added.
Elgeyo-Marakwet Senator Kipchumba Murkomen also blamed NASA leaders for the collapsed talks.
"What has happened today was not unexpected, these are people not prepared to have a meaningful discussion. I want to assure Kenyans that there will elections on October 26," he said.
Murkomen dismissed NASA's claims that electoral amendment bill is meant to curtail the gains made on electoral reforms.
"The bill was not the creation of Jubilee but it emanated from the Supreme Court ruling. The bill does not alter the electronic system neither the manual, on the contrary, it fills the vacuum in case of any eventuality," he added.