The International Commission of Jurists of Kenya has waded into the IEBC issue saying the electoral commission needs to be reformed before the next general election.
On Tuesday, the ICJ asked the commissioners to voluntary resign to pave way for the formation of a new team ahead of the 2017 elections.
ICJ-Kenya vice chair Kelvin Mogeni at the same time urged political leaders and the Executive to pursue constructive dialogue to end the crisis over credibility of IEBC and the electoral process.
“IEBC is the one in the eye of the storm and the single trigger of the current violence. IEBC’s mishandling of the BVR kits that led to the bungled 2013 elections and disputed results, allegations of dizzying levels of corruption against the commissioners, and their blatant disregard for constitutional and legal electoral provisions to favour preferred candidates and political parties have collectively rendered the continued presence of some of the commissioners in office anachronistic,” said the ICJ.
Cord has been pushing for the commission to be disbanded claiming it is partisan and corrupt and can’t oversee the forthcoming polls.
It held protests for four weeks every Monday in their bid to send the IEBC chiefs home. Three people died in Kisumu and Siaya during their last demos on May 23, 2016.
Twelve foreign envoys from the EU and US voiced their concern over the events and called for dialogue in a bid to resolve the impasse. They also condemned the police for their brutality on the protesters.
"We are deeply concerned by the escalation of violence during the demonstrations in Kenyan cities on May 23 around the future of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)," the diplomats said in a joint statement.
The ICJ call came even as President Uhuru and Cord co-principals Raila Odinga and Moses Wetangula on Tuesday struck a deal to end the stalemate. MPs both from Jubilee and Cord have also been meeting to chart the way forward.