March 4th 2013 it is! IEBC has finally announced the date for the next general elections. The date has been a subject of controversy ever since the constitution was enacted.
With the announcement, we are not out of the woods yet. Simply because Kenyans wanted an early election, August 2012 as presumably set in the constitution or latest December 2012 as has been the trend.
It makes matters worse that Prime Minister Raila Odinga and ODM preferred a December election. Whenever there has been no consensus between Raila and Kibaki, it is the ordinary Kenyans that suffer. Kibaki has favoured a March 2013 election and it looks like that opinion carried the day.
The reformed judiciary did not make matters easier by giving a time range when elections should be held instead of a specific date. It is the same mistake that constitution drafters made by having contradicting provisions as to when the date of next elections will be.
One wonders why Kibaki has to antagonize popular public opinion to the last day of his presidency. Many Kenyans cannot wait for the end of this coalition dispensation which has been riddled with political strife, post election violence, governance controversies and escalating costs of living.
With the announcement, we are not out of the woods yet. Simply because Kenyans wanted an early election, August 2012 as presumably set in the constitution or latest December 2012 as has been the trend.
It makes matters worse that Prime Minister Raila Odinga and ODM preferred a December election. Whenever there has been no consensus between Raila and Kibaki, it is the ordinary Kenyans that suffer. Kibaki has favoured a March 2013 election and it looks like that opinion carried the day.
The reformed judiciary did not make matters easier by giving a time range when elections should be held instead of a specific date. It is the same mistake that constitution drafters made by having contradicting provisions as to when the date of next elections will be.
One wonders why Kibaki has to antagonize popular public opinion to the last day of his presidency. Many Kenyans cannot wait for the end of this coalition dispensation which has been riddled with political strife, post election violence, governance controversies and escalating costs of living.
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