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Kriegler report

Written by Open Thread
Saturday, 20 September 2008
You've probably read about the Kriegler report in the papers - how could you not have? Informed discussion is better than uninformed, so, as one Stephen Kalonzo Musyoka said somewhat ineffectually, do check out the whole thing (online here) before engaging the debate. Set as favorite Bookmark Email This Trackback(0) TrackBack URI for this entry Comments (14) Subscribe to this comment's feed Show/Hide comments ... written by wuod aketch , September 20, 2008 Son of Aketch, rejoin us when the chill pill works its magic. Eds. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0 ... written by manta ray , September 21, 2008 Fantastic report that has put clearly what i have believed all along. I have always maintained that a process that was began on the wrong foundation was bound to fail. You start wrong, you finish wrong. One matter though that Kriegler omitted was the necessity for an independent and immediate population Census, even as he pointed out the absurd misrepresentation in Kenya of the principle of one man, one vote. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0 ... written by Daniel.Waweru , September 21, 2008 Manta, quite right; in fact, I'll admit surprise at the forthrightness with which he pointed out the constituency problem. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0 ... written by manta ray , September 22, 2008 Daniel.Waweru, what is even more surprising is the utter disregard by the PNU brigade for this matter to be dealt with and resolved as quickly as possible. I doubt that Nyanza or Western province politicians would oppose it as they too stand to gain from increased constituencies. Kibaki had an opportunity to do something on ascension to power in 2002, and after the successful Rev. Njoya court case ruling for the same with brilliant lawyer Kibe Mungai. Now Karua has dismissed the necessity for the same just because Uhuru has taken it up, claiming that it will be done as part of a comprehensive constitutional review. How does she know the review will in fact ever take place? It is not surprising she would say so as many ex-DP politicians in PNU are probably the most incompetent politicians i have ever seen. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: -1 ... written by Daniel.Waweru , September 22, 2008 Manta, well said. I'm not sure what the objection to doing it before the Constitutionla Review is, especially since redrawing constituency boundaries is not itself a constitutional matter. OTOH, maybe the ECK lacks the requisite credibility. But this may be Martha's attempt to heighten the contrast with Uhuru -- it's pretty clear that there are ODMers who are unhappy with a review of constituency boundaries, and Martha may have chosen to do business with them. Expediency, not incompetence. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0 ... written by mkosakabila , September 22, 2008 I suppose the ex-KANU politicians in PNU are the least incompetent, eh? I actually dont see what the beef is about the TIMING re redrawing the constituency boundaries as long as its done in time for 2012, unless '2012' comes earlier. I dont know about that. What we need is some shared understanding as to the point of the exercise and to have that shared understanding at the policy level for purposes of implementation. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0 ... written by Ngigi wa Kamau , September 22, 2008 MK, I actually dont see what the beef is about the TIMING re redrawing the constituency boundaries as long as its done in time for 2012, unless '2012' comes earlier. I dont know about that. In the context of an electoral crisis & governance arrangement that saw the parliamentary coalition with the most votes (PNU at 4m), secure much fewer parliamentary seats, and with the beneficiaries of Moi-era gerrymandering using their parliamentary numbers to insist that rigging took place, a redistribution of seats to reflect population and citizen equality is a matter of urgency. Considering the politicisation of the issue by ODM before last year's elections ( Kivuitu had sought to review the boundaries) and the Karua bill was rejected on the floor of the house, it is important to de-link the quest for constitutional equality (one-person one vote) from the electoral process. Ngigi report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0 ... written by mkosakabila , September 22, 2008 Thanks Ngigi for the clarification, though really, I'd rather have my as mkosakabila. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0 ... written by wuod aketch , September 23, 2008 This report puts onto the table the question of legitimacy of Kibaki as president of the republic of Kenya. page 10 of the Consolidated Final Report says on : Integrity of result : Therefore, although there is room for honest disagreement as to whether there was rigging of the presidential results announced by the ECK, the answer is irrelevant, as (i) the process was undetectably perverted at the polling stage, and (ii) the recorded and reported results are so inaccurate as to render any reasonably accurate, reliable and convincing conclusion impossible. The coalition government is an insult to the intelligence of Kenyans. Kibaki has now got the report he asked for and the verdict is very clear. He is in state house anticonstitutionally. The only one exercising power legally is the prime minister. His post was created through the Constitution of Kenya (Amendment) act 2008. He represents the majority in parliament (appointed by it). report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0 ... written by Ngigi wa Kamau , September 23, 2008 Mkosakabila, No offense intended. Ngigi report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0 ... written by Daniel.Waweru , September 23, 2008 Wuod, your argument rests on several assumptions, the most interesting of which is this: (1) The Prime Minister is legitimately in office because the party which he leads fairly won a majority of Parliamentary seats. Note that: IREC’s analysis of nineteen sample constituencies – which we have no hesitation in using for drawing conclusions about the entire operation – has led it to the irrefutable conclusion that the ECK was not able to manage the counting, tallying and results announcement processes in such a way that it secured the integrity of the electoral process at either the residential or the parliamentary level. (See page 137 of the IREC report.) By your logic, winning office as a consequence of flawed elections deprives one of legitimacy. IREC found that the parliamentary results were fatally compromised. By your logic, therefore, it follows that the Prime Minister's exercise of his powers is illegitmate. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0 ... written by wuod aketch , September 23, 2008 The report points out irregularities also at parliamentary leve but this is not where Kenyans really felt cheated. As I wrote earlier, the coalition government is a farce and should be done away with as soon as possible. The 10th parliament should dissolve itself and pave way for new elections. The present coalition government and parliament is not going to give us a new constitution any soon. It is not in their interest. Most ECK commissioners blamed for the counting and tallying are arithmetic illiterates. They are byproducts of the 8-4-4 system. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0 ... written by donde , September 24, 2008 We as Kenyans were short changed we came out in large numbers voted but we cannot know the winner. Despite the fact that some Idps are still in the cold campaign 2012 ha taken off in earnest. Shame! report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0 ... written by manta ray , September 24, 2008 "...the process was undetectably perverted at the polling stage, and (ii) the recorded and reported results are so inaccurate as to render any reasonably accurate, reliable and convincing conclusion impossible..." Aketch, your own observation above sentences your argument that the PM is legitimately in office to life imprisonment. report abuse vote down vote up Votes: +0 Show/Hide comment form Write comment Name Email Title Comment smaller \| bigger Subscribe via email (Registered users only) Write the displayed characters
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