Jubilee rejects UN body involvement in repeat presidential election

By - Winnie Mabel (Tuko.com)

• The UNDP offered the IEBC a deal to purchase all the ballot papers and result forms for the repeat presidential election 
• IEBC welcomed the offer, saying it would restore public faith in the polling commission and the election process 
• Both Jubilee Party and NASA's Raila Odinga have rejected the deal 
• Jubilee says the deal is illegal and Raila says IEBC intends to hide behind the UNDP to have Al Ghurair print the ballot papers 

The Jubilee Party and the National Super Alliance have rejected a deal between the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and the United Nations Development Program that will see the UN body purchase ballot papers and result forms for the October 26 repeat presidential election. The deal would have seen Kenyans get a huge tax relief as the Cabinet had already approved a KSh 10 billion budget for the election. Jubilee leaders said the deal is illegal because it is against the law on the management of public money. 

Speaking on Tuesday, September 26, Jubilee’s Aden Duale who is the Leader of Majority in the National Assembly said that the United Nations cannot conduct an election in Kenya. “We are not a banana republic. The only places where UN can conduct an election is in Liberia and Haiti. An election conducted by the UN is illegal. This is just because he (Chebukati) wants to satisfy the ego of someone who is power-hungry,” said Duale as quoted in the Daily Nation on Wednesday, September 27. On the other hand, NASA’s presidential flag bearer, Raila Odinga, rejected the deal, saying it was just a plot for the IEBC to hide behind the UNDP to have Al Ghurair print the ballot papers again. 

“NASA will not accept ballot papers printed by Al Ghurair. IEBC cannot hide under UNDP to help in sourcing for ballot papers. It is not a question of who will pay. We reject the offer,” said Raila during a presser at his Capitol Hill offices. 

NASA, in one of their demands to the IEBC, demanded that Al Ghurair not print the ballot papers in any other Kenyan election following the nullified presidential victory in the August 8 election. Otherwise- according to the opposition brigade- there will be no election in Kenya on October 26. IEBC had said the deal is welcome and are in talks with the National Treasury about it since they are in a binding agreement with the Dubai based Al Ghurair. Raila responded to this saying that the contract is not binding because Al Ghurair was single sourced. 

This deal was informed be a financing agreement between UNDP and the IEBC, and Wafula Chebukati was of the opinion that accepting the deal would restore public trust in the polling commission after the Supreme Court found that they bungled the August 8 presidential election.