Four rebel IEBC commissioners back Chebukati’s statement
The four Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioners, who disowned Chairperson Wafula Chebukati at Bomas of Kenya have backed his statement following the decision by the 7 judge bench to uphold president-elect William Ruto`s win.
On August 15, 2022, IEBC vice-chairperson Juliana Cherera and commissioners Irene Masit, Francis Wanderi, and Justus Nyang’aya, rejected the presidential election results that Chebukati announced and said publicly that they could not take ownership of the announced results.
They retreated from their initial disagreement with their chairperson, making a clear indication that they were ready to mend fences.
“We also state here that we agree with the statement of the chairperson of the commission, which was sent to the media yesterday. We wish to reiterate that we stand by the rule of law and statutes that promote effectiveness of the work of the commission,” said the four in a joint statement.
They also said they would respect the decision of the Supreme Court that upheld the declaration of Dr William Ruto as President-elect.
“We wish to convey our appreciation to the Honourable judges of the Supreme Court of Kenya and confirm that we respect their collective decision,” statement reads.
The officials had also complained that they were side-lined in the appointment of returning officers and ran the affairs of the commission independently without involving them. This caused a rift between Cherera and Chebukati.
At a press briefing on Monday, hours after the unanimous verdict by the Supreme Court, Chebukati said the poll agency had been vindicated after the apex court’s finding that the IEBC conducted a free, fair and transparent August 9 elections.
He clearly stated that the four commissioners were at liberty to do as they wish and that no one was after them for expressing their freedom.
“As a commission, we follow the law and it is up to them and their conscience what they want to do going forward. We have not chased away anyone,” he said.
Chebukati explained that the IEBC had put in place a robust and transparent election infrastructure to ensure that the votes cast in the elections were counted, electronically transmitted, verified, tallied, announced and declared in line with Articles 81 and 86 of the Constitution.
