Interfaith committee points at gaps in new electoral law

Photo: FreePik

Ballot box

By Henry Mwangonde , The Guardian

THE Interfaith Standing Committee on Economic Justice and Integrity of Creation (ISCEJIC) has proposed further amendments to the new election laws, including

protecting aspirants from disqualification because of administrative errors, along with enabling party agents access to polling centres.

Advocate Uzima Justine, a constitutional lawyer with the committee, and the clerical team issued the proposals when briefing journalists on the recent reforms on electoral laws, noting that they still have shortfalls raising concerns among stakeholders.

“There should be no reason to bar party agents from accessing polling centres to prevent unnecessary concerns and grievances before, during and after the voting,” he said, elaborating that in Kenya and South Africa the electoral body is mandated by law to help aspirants in filling forms, to avoid administrative errors such as mistakes in birth dates recorded.

In Kenya an aspirant can fill forms online, where the electoral body provides feedback on possible mistakes in filling the forms, while those who fill manually are helped by commission officers to avoid mistakes, he asserted.

 “We want to see the electoral body put in place a feedback system to help clear small administrative errors before the nominations are completed,” he said, recalling that in civic polls 2019 and 2020 general election aspirants were disqualified for presumed errors in filling their birth dates while others were told they were late to hand in the forms.

He said that these were issues that can be solved by the law, along with the issue of denying party agents from accessing polling centres.in which case current reforms need to be deepened, as they seek to recognize the National Electoral Commission (NEC) as an independent entity.

This is not yet reflected in the real needs of the people since its set up either in its budget or administration does not reflect an independent entity, he said, citing the South African electoral commission where the chairman of the vetting committee is recruited on merit through interviews.

All the other members of the electoral body are recruited publicly, while in Tanzania all the members are appointed by the president, he said, affirming that the new electoral law has the setup of the South African electoral body but lacks the format which makes it independent..

Gloria Mafole, legal adviser for the committee, said that despite being pronounced independent, NEC was not independent given its budgetary, administrative and structural setup.

“The law gives the president the powers and also gives more powers to the body itself but has not given the powers to aspirants to challenge its decision in court,” she stated.

Fr Chrisantus Ndaga, a committee member, asserted that elections are a pillar of democratic society as the exercise promotes unity and national cohesion. Despite the challenges there is hope as the government has offered room for discussion, the cleric added.