The electoral commission mandated to oversee the fresh presidential polls has pushed forward the election date. In a press statement, the commission chair Wafula Chebukati noted that pushing forward of the date is to allow the electoral body to comply with standards set out by the landmark Supreme Court ruling that was made yesterday.
The statement read:
On 20th September 2017, the Supreme Court delivered its detailed judgement in Presidential Petition Number 1 of 2017. The commission continues to review the Judgment and its implications on the forthcoming fresh presidential election.
There is no doubt that the judgement impacts on the election operations and in particular technology to be deployed.
In order to ensure that the Commission is fully prepared to deliver an election that meets the standards set out by the Supreme Court, we wish to notify the public and all stakeholders that the fresh presidential elections shall now be held on Thursday, 26th October 2017.
The commission shall issue further details on the state of preparedness tomorrow, 22nd September 2017.
The statement was signed by the Commission’s chairman Mr. Wafula Chebukati.
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The commission had initially set the date at 17th October 2017, drawing fierce opposition from the NASA coalition. NASA principals, led by its flag bearer Raila Odinga, said that they were not consulted before the election date was set. They said the date was set by Education Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiangi. Raila maintained that pushing the date forward by a few days will not kill learners.
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