Africa-Press – Kenya. Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse / FILEKibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse has dismissed leaders criticising President William Ruto’s list of commissioners for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
He said the Commission does not decide the presidency but rather conducts the voting process and announces the winners.
This is after a section of the opposition took issue with the members nominated by the President to lead the IEBC.
“Who in Kenya doesn’t know that IEBC cannot make anybody president? IEBC cannot make anybody governor, it cannot make anybody senator or Member of Parliament. It cannot make anybody an MCA,” he said on Sunday.
He added that Kenyans are the ones who have the votes to decide who they want their leader to be.
Mutuse said the IEBC selection process for commissioners was consultative, stating that it followed due process.
“It started at Bomas with the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO), which was led by Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka and Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah. They brought the IEBC issue in Parliament, they said that the selection panel should be expanded,” he said.
According to him, the process was inclusive because a member of the IEBC selection panel was nominated from the opposition.
“The President has not nominated anyone outside the list that the selection panel suggested; he picked a young lawyer from Turkana as the best person to head Turkana. Why else are we complaining and the President did not choose outside the list that we gave him,” he said.
Mutuse said that some wards and constituencies have been without leaders for a long time and need representation in Parliament.
“When we speak in Parliament, we represent our people, we talk about the budget and important national issues, those wards and constituencies do not have representation in the House. Those who are against IEBC formation should feel pity for such constituents with no leaders,” he said.
Mutuse criticised those opposed to the newly nominated IEBC commissioners, saying they have not mastered Kenyan politics.
President Ruto’s new nominees for commissioners stirred controversy among opposition leaders.
Ruto named Erastus Edung Ethekon from Turkana County as the nominee for chairperson of the IEBC.
He also nominated Ann Nderitu, lawyer Moses Alutalala Mukhwana, former University Vice-chancellor Francis Aduol, Mary Karen Sorobit, Hassan Noor Hassan and Fahima Araphat Abdallah as members.
There were 116 candidates, from which the panel settled on two for chairperson and nine for member roles.
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