IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati, his commission has urged the court to uphold the law that bars politicians from defecting to other political outfits after losing in the primaries. the-star.co.ke
The Independent Electoral and Boundary commission has urged the court to uphold the law that bars politicians from defecting to other political outfits after losing in the primaries.
This is after the council of governors filed a suit that stated denying politicians the right to freely move from one outfit to another, is unreasonable and unjustifiable.
The IEBC, however, says the Council of Governors has failed to demonstrate how the law infringes on anyone’s freedom of association. The court in favor of the COG issued temporary orders stopping the commission from implementing the law, but the commission says the orders ought to be lifted.
“There are alternative avenues, such as contesting as an independent candidate, if one is not pleased with a particulate political party,” the IEBC submitted in court papers.
Further, the commission contends that the timing of party hopping has constitutional underpinning within the wider interpretation of the Constitution.
The Council of Governors says the right of any politician to defect and join a party of his or her choice before the deadline set by the IEBC, should not be violated.