Kenya to hold new presidential vote on Oct. 17 - electoral commission

Record ID: 908807

  • Title: Kenya to hold new presidential vote on Oct. 17 - electoral commission
  • Date: 4th September 2017
  • Summary: NAIROBI, KENYA (SEPTEMBER 4, 2017) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) LAWYER, CHARLES KANJAMA, SAYING: "It is impossible for IEBC to carry out a fresh election without the commissioners in office. The commissioners could always decide to reshuffle, suspend, appoint new members of the secretariat but you have to remember that if you are carrying out such a substantial logistical exercise within less than sixty days there is very limited scope for changes. Substantial changes within the secretariat staff because the people with experience and competence and ability to carry out this fresh election are the same people who did the previous one. Maybe there is need for greater oversight, certain standards and strictness to ensure that whatever errors were committed last time are not repeated. It will really be a tough task to ask brand new people to come into the secretariat and discharge a responsibility that they have no clue about." WIDE OF KANJAMA IN HIS OFFICE
  • Embargoed: 18th September 2017 16:38
  • Keywords: Kenya election Kalonzo Musyoka opposition leader President Kenyatta IEBC election results
  • Location: NAIROBI, KENYA
  • City: NAIROBI, KENYA
  • Country: Kenya
  • Topics: Government/Politics,Elections/Voting
  • Reuters ID: LVA0046X6KWNB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Kenya's election commission on Monday (September 4) set Oct. 17 as the date for a new vote ordered by the Supreme Court when it annulled an August poll won by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
    The election will feature Kenyatta who is running for a second term and opposition leader Raila Odinga, the commission said.
    A presidential spokesman said the government will not replace the election board ahead of the election, setting up a potential showdown between the government and the opposition.
    Kenyatta won the Aug. 8 vote by 1.4 million votes. The court on Friday (September 1) said the election commission had not followed proper procedures and ordered it to hold a new vote within 60 days. It did not stipulate any personnel changes.
    Odinga's running mate Kalonzo Musyoka said the electoral body cannot be trusted to conduct another election as its currently stands. He's calling for Chief Executive Officer Hezron Chiloba to be fired and someone else be appointed in his place.
    Some Kenyans celebrated the ruling, saying it reduced the potential for a repeat of the kind of violence that followed a disputed 2007 presidential election, in which more than 1,200 people were killed.
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