Wednesday 19 December 2012

[wanabidii] “LOCKBOX VOTING” THE ANSWER TO THE DYSFUNCTIONAL KENYAN GOVERNMENT & IEBC’S DILEMMA ON DIASPORA VOTING

Factual Background & Summary:
Last month's decision by Kenya's cabinet and the Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to exclude the Diaspora from voting in the upcoming general elections was bad and absurd. Diaspora voters locked out of elections . In its decision, both the IEBC and the cabinet contended that it was impractical to register Kenyans living abroad within the arbitrarily set 30-day window that just expired and vote in the March 4 elections. Well, maybe not so fast. I believe that we still have a few practical and inexpensive alternatives available in which we can accommodate all stakeholders, particularly the Diaspora and turn this unraveling fiasco into a success story not the least of which is lockbox voting. I am hopeful, perhaps naïve but I believe that that the folks in government in Nairobi will be open to listen to this idea as one way to cure this problem. As of December 18th 2012, the IEBC's latest tally of registered voters is about 13.5 Million, in other words it missed its own registration target of 18 Million by 4.5 Million voters- 4.5 Million! We are yet to hear reasons why they missed 4.5 Million voters by their own standards. Also as of today, this voter registration ritual in this sacrosanct democratic participation process is closed. Diaspora Kenyans have been denied the opportunity to register and those in Kenya who couldn't get to the registration centers for whatever reason such as lack of proper identity cards which the government failed to provide in the first place will be locked out from voting this coming election cycle if IEBC has its way.   
  The new constitution explicitly provides for continuous voter registration- Chapter 7, article 82  in pertinent part reads, § (c) "the continuous registration of citizens as voters"; (e) "the progressive registration of citizens residing outside Kenya, and the progressive realization of their right to vote."  In the United States for example, voter registration is a continuous exercise up until one or two weeks before Election Day depending on the state.  So what IEBC contends to be insurmountable, it is in fact relatively easy- if only they can be receptive to ideas and quit being rigidly prescriptive all the time. Rather than execute its mandate in good faith, the IEBC lurched its decision to suppress Diaspora voting on a gratuitous and indistinct court decision that incorrectly cited "progressive realization" as an excuse; it is the poorest and preposterous excuse for incompetence I have ever heard, and to say we are disappointed would be an understatement, we are livid. First, Diaspora voting is not an epiphany that IEBC just realized was urgent, they have known this day was coming since the passing of the new constitution more than 2 years ago in 2010. They have had more than ample time to plan, execute and implement the voting exercise by all Kenyans globally or at least show good faith attempt to, how it is that they can now claim they have no time to conduct the exercise. All the tax funded overseas trips to America and Europe by Chairman Hassan and his commissioners laden with generous daily allowances should have amounted tangible results, at least. So the excuse of "progressive realization" just does not wash with me, 2 years plus is more than ample time to satisfy progressiveness. The IEBC is yet to reconcile to us its rationale or justification for their cockamamie notion that they could accomplish in 30 days that which was timed to take at least two years; why not 15,10, 5 or 60 days? Besides, where does the IEBC get the authority and power to make a complete mockery of our hard won right to participate in the democratic process? No law in Kenya limits the registration period to 30 days or any period for that matter and yet the bureaucrats at IEBC improperly arrogated them this delimiter at our expense; what is our recourse? Where is our remedy?  Needless to say, the government's position on this is wrong just as is its predicate, it is the epitome of wanton recklessness, abject incompetency and dereliction of duty on the part of the Kenyan government- not surprising in the least.
Be that as it may, it is not enough to blame and cry foul without offering solutions- I believe can we still can salvage this thing. Notwithstanding the IEBC imposed arbitrary timelines, it is important that we get this right and accommodate all eligible voters who want to partake in this exercise. Like many of you, my scope is confined to the Diaspora and in the large scheme of things, the solution to the Diaspora voting stalemate could in fact turn out to be very simple and pragmatic. We don't need to reinvent the wheel but follow established models which we know already work and perhaps tweak them slightly to fit our circumstances: Continue Reading http://www.ochwangi.com/?p=592 ..
 

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