{"id":112914,"date":"2025-04-02T14:03:57","date_gmt":"2025-04-02T14:03:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/04\/02\/odm-accusses-wiper-of-seeking-to-scuttle-iebc-reconstitution\/"},"modified":"2025-04-02T14:03:57","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T14:03:57","slug":"odm-accusses-wiper-of-seeking-to-scuttle-iebc-reconstitution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/odm-accusses-wiper-of-seeking-to-scuttle-iebc-reconstitution\/","title":{"rendered":"ODM accusses Wiper of seeking to scuttle IEBC reconstitution"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 2 \u2014 The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has accused the Wiper Party of attempting to disrupt the reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) following Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka\u2019s call for urgent consultations with President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga.<\/strong><\/p>\n

At a press briefing on Wednesday, ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna responded to claims by a section of the Azimio La Umoja coalition led by Wiper, which alleged undue interference by ODM in the IEBC reconstitution process.<\/p>\n

Sifuna dismissed the accusations as politically motivated and aimed at discrediting ongoing efforts to reform the electoral body.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe process is being conducted in full accordance with the recommendations of the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) report, which was chaired by none other than Honorable Kalonzo Musyoka,\u201d Sifuna stated.<\/p>\n

He further noted that the delay in reconstituting the IEBC was initially caused by Wiper\u2019s failure to nominate a representative to the selection panel.<\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing ODM\u2019s support, Wiper\u2019s nominee, Koki Muli, was appointed to the panel and has been part of the process from the shortlisting stage to the ongoing candidate interviews,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The NADCO report, which was established to restore confidence in Kenya\u2019s electoral system, emphasized the need for an independent and transparent selection process for the new IEBC commissioners.<\/p>\n

\u2018Indipendent panel\u2019<\/h2>\n

Sifuna stressed that the selection panel operates independently and should be allowed to execute its mandate without interference.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe panel should be allowed to carry out its work without political or external interference. We view these accusations by some Azimio leaders as an attempt to preemptively discredit the panel and the entire process,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Kalonzo had in a letter addressed to Ruto and Raila warned against skewed appoitments to IEBC insiting on non-partisan electoral officials.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor the avoidance of doubt, should the UDA\/ODM Alliance proceed with the appointment of the IEBC Chairperson and commissioners without the meaningful participation of the opposition, such an action will be viewed as an attempt to establish a partisan electoral body and pre-rig the next elections,\u201d the Wiper leader wrote on March 28.<\/p>\n

Kalonzo called out ODM for forging an alliance with the ruling UDA-led coalition to constitute a partisan electoral commission.<\/p>\n

Addressing allegations of ODM\u2019s involvement in selecting the IEBC Chairperson, Sifuna denied the accusations.<\/p>\n

\u201cODM is not in government,\u201d he asserted.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf we were consulted, I would probably find a very good chairman for the IEBC, but that is not my job. That is the responsibility of the selection panel.\u201d<\/p>\n

He maintained that the selection process must remain in the hands of the panel, which includes representatives from various societal sectors, including political parties, religious groups, and professional organizations.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt cannot be up to political players alone,\u201d Sifuna argued. <\/p>\n

\u201cFor anyone to demand consultation when they already have representation on the panel is disingenuous.\u201d<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 2 \u2014 The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has accused the Wiper Party of attempting to disrupt the reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) following Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka\u2019s call for urgent consultations with President William Ruto and ODM leader Raila Odinga. At a press briefing on Wednesday, ODM Secretary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-112914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112914\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}