Kenya Prime Minister Raila Odinga has said the Electoral Commission of Kenya must own up and resign from office or be forced out.
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Mr Odinga was speaking was speaking in Tanzania, where he is on a three-day official visit.
At the same time, American ambassador Michael Ranneberger has said the ECK must accept the verdict of the Kriegler report.
He fell short of openly calling for the Commissioners’ resignation.
“Kivuitu and his team should now resign immediately, or in any case there is going to be a recommendation that they leave,” Raila told Tanzania’s state television in an early morning live interview.
The PM said that the recently released Kriegler’s report implicated ECK and its leadership in malpractices that could not be wished away.
He said the report has recommended far reaching changes in the ECK and promised to see them through to regain the confidence of the electorate.
According to Raila, Kivuitu has lately tried to strike a conciliatory position but that would still not absolve him from blame.
“He had the chance and choice not to announce flawed results bit did not and should now be ready to shoulder the responsibility as well,” the PM told broadcaster Susan Mungi in the interview on Tanzanian Broadcasting Corporation.
The Kenyan leader said he as well as the coalition government had accepted the Kriegler’s report and would be implementing it recommendations for posterity.
He thanked Tanzanian leaders President Jakaya Kikwete and former President Benjamin Mkapa for helping Kenya to overcome the post-election crisis.
The US ambassador said that the report released last week pointed at much need electoral reforms which include the reconstitution of the ECK and added that the US expects the grand coalition government to move quickly to implement the recommendations of the Kriegler team.
“I think we all know what that means and it is for the commissioners to heed that advice and do the right thing. They should listen to the recommendations and it is obvious to everyone what they need to do.”
The report released last week calls for a complete overhaul of the country’s electoral process including the possible replacement of the ECK.
Mr Ranneberger said that the US was committed to supporting the country in the reform agenda including the complete resettlement of internal refugees.
“We all expected that the process would take some time but more importantly it must be done in a voluntary manner.”
He was speaking at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre (KICC) after attending the ongoing non-governmental organisations’ week.
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Submitted by harrydre
Posted September 25, 2008 11:18 PM
I am not defending ECK but we all failed as Kenyans. These same politicians asking ECK to quit are the same who incited voters by making them believe they had won long before
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