Former nominated Senator Paul Njoroge has given the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) 30 days to delay the 2022 General Election or he will move to court.
In a letter to the commission seen by Kivumbi.co.ke, Njoroge wants the election date pushed from August 9, 2022, to August 2023, to allow President Uhuru Kenyatta to serve his constitutional term fully.
He argues that if the country holds the next General Election as planned, then the Head of State will not have served his five-year term in accordance with Kenya’s 2010 Constitution.
“If elections are to be conducted on August 9, 2022, as you have indicated, it means that the current president shall have been denied over four months of his term, which is unconstitutional,” Njoroge said.
According to the Kenyan Constitution 2010, the General Election is supposed to be held on the second Tuesday of August every fifth year after another election.
Njoroge however argues that President Uhuru Kenyatta took his oath of office on November 28, 2017 thus his term should therefore lapse on November 27, 2022.
The 2017 repeat election was prompted by a Supreme Court ruling which overturned the election of President Uhuru Kenyatta and ordered a run-off presidential election.
“I believe that under the proper interpretation of the law the correct date of the next election shall be on August 2023, not 9th August 2022,” he added.
The ex-senator vowed to move to court should the poll agency fail to update the public on the proposed postponement of the General Election within 30 days.
“Unless you withdraw and desist from misinforming the public that the election date is 9th August 2022 within the next 30 days, I shall be constrained to move to court and seek the court’s interpretation of the above constitutional provisions,” he said.
The debate over the postponement of the General Election has sparked mixed reactions between pro and anti-BBI factions.
Whereas the pro-BBI team led by COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli is pushing for the postponement of the General Election, supporters of Deputy William Ruto are on the other side are threatening to report the Jubilee Government at the United Nations (UN) should the country delay 2022 elections.
“We will oppose this and even write a letter to the UN Security Council stating that Kenya is not at war and that the government should put in place measures to ensure that elections are held as planned,” said Ruto’s ally and former Mombasa Senator Omar Hassan.
