President Uhuru Kenyatta signs into law a bill in the past. [Photo//Ebru TV]President Uhuru Kenyatta has explained his failure to assent the election amendments bill tabled before him more than a fortnight ago by parliament.
During his acceptance speech for being re-elected in the fresh presidential poll last Thursday, President Kenyatta on Monday first regretted the Supreme Court verdict that annulled his victory on September 1.
He said; “On 8th of August, Kenyans woke up early to Vote. And they voted me their President, without a doubt. When my victory was put to test at the Supreme Court, this was the Verdict.”
“The Court did not Challenge my overwhelming mandate of 54%. The numbers were never questioned. What the Court questioned was the process of declaring my victory. And because the court did not question my victory, they by extension validated my 54% numbers.”
He explained that the Supreme Court verdict put him into a political paradox that made his administration to rethink the constitutional provisions that the court rode on while giving its decision.
This according to him was a painful decision to make after he ruled out chances of insisting on his annulled victory.
“In spite of this paradox, I had to make a painful decision. The choice for me was to resist the paradox and insist on my valid victory; or to submit myself to the Rule of Law. This was the most difficult and painful decision a politician can make,” President Kenyatta said.
Acknowledging that the rule of law is greater than his desires, the head of state said he accepted to submit to the direction offered by the Supreme Court.
The national assembly then went into a rush of amending the election laws, a move that the president and his Jubilee team fiercely supported.
“Members of Parliament should speed up the process that will ensure all the issues are addressed so that we can hold an election where there will be no doubt who the winner will be,” Uhuru said early October.
The laws were later passed in both houses courtesy of the ruling party’s majority and presented before the president for sanction.
On Monday, President Kenyatta noted that as the law-making organ of our nation, the national assembly “took the legislative critique by the Supreme Court seriously and embarked to correct the legislative challenges to our Election Laws.”
This was marred by protests from a section of civil societies, the Opposition, and foreign emissaries. The antagonists argued that it was self-seeking for the ruling side to change election laws in the middle of a political crisis-ahead of a critical election.
The IEBC too expressed its objection to the proposed new law saying it would interfere with much of its preparations for the repeat presidential poll.
The poll body stated that instead of targeting the (IEBC) chair or any individual while amending the law, Jubilee ought to have waited for the election to be done and a comprehensive review undertaken.
Mr Kenyatta on Monday admitted that he considered calls from dissenting parties on the controversial change of election law.
“When the Bill was brought to me for signature, I was compelled by my conscience to go back to the Origins of Law. If an Act of Parliament is a direct expression of the Will of the People, were the people happy with this law?” he posed.
“Some argued that I was changing the Rules of Engagement half-way through the game. Others argued to change the electoral law ahead of the 26th election is to privilege myself over the other competitors. And because law must be founded on reasoned national consensus, I listened to these voices. I did not sign the new Bill into Law,” Mr Kenyatta said.