The Government yesterday warned the opposition against disrupting the August 8 general election if the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) fails to withdraw an appeal it has filed in court.
Government spokesman Erick Kiraithe yesterday said the government is ready to counter any criminal acts designed to disrupt the exercise and told The National Super Alliance (NASA) to let the courts do their work.
In particular Kiraithe said the government is concerned with Machaklos Senator Jonstone Muthama’s remarks which he said is aimed at inciting NASA’s supporters to violence as they have no legal basis to stop the election.
He claimed that the remarks by the opposition which is only coming three months to the general election bear the risk of slowing down the IEBC’s momentum as the commission prepared to conduct a free, fair and credible election.
He said: “the first question we want to ask regarding these statement is, who is the senator and his colleagues threatening? Is it the courts, IEBC, the government or the approximately seven million Kenyans who have kicked off the electoral process by participating in the recent party nomination?”
Addressing a news conference yesterday Kiraithe told the opposition to allow the judiciary to carry out its duties as enshrined in the constitution.
He claimed that the move by the opposition is a blatant attempt to interfere with a judicial process which is contradictory to its rhetoric of having an independent judiciary.
Kiraithe argued that going by the oppositions’ remarks it is clear that it is not keen on going in to elections in August especially going by its remarks now and in the past where it has tried to interfere with the commission’s programme.
He said; “while disputes are normal in any political contest, we must all bind ourselves to accepting arbitration and resolution through the institutions that we have participated in setting up in this case the courts and IEBC. Anything else is a guaranteed route to anarchy.”
The sentiments by Kiraithe comes just a day after Nasa questioned IEBC’s motive in its decision to appeal last month’s court ruling, declaring that the presidential results declared at the constituency level will be final.
Addressing the press at the Moi International Airport, Mombasa, after a retreat with NASA principals, the coalition’s technical committee led by senators Johnstone Muthama and James Orengo described the idea as “part of Jubilee government’s plot to rig elections”.
They warned that “there would be no election” if the law is changed. “In whose interest is IEBC appealing the ruling? ” Muthama asked.