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MKENYA DAIMA PARTICIPATES IN THE IEBC NATIONAL ELECTION CONFERENCE
- Published On: 2022-07-18
On 11th July 2022, the Mkenya Daima Initiative represented by Ms Martha Cheruto – KEPSA Deputy CEO – Foundation participated in the 2022 National Election Conference hosted by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) at KICC.
Themed ‘Moving Kenya Towards a Stronger Democracy’, the conference was held in partnership with other institutions and development partners and provided an opportunity for Kenyans and key electoral stakeholders to reflect on their roles in the Country’s preparedness for the 2022 General Elections.
Ms Cheruto took part in a panel discussion on Electoral Security, Peace and Conflict Mitigation, alongside other panellists who included Ms Juliana Cherera – Vice-Chairperson IEBC; Mr David Omwoyo – CEO Media Council of Kenya; Mr Victor Mule – Deputy Director, Office of Director of Public Prosecutions; Mr Abdilhaziz Farah from National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) and Ms Roseline Odede – Chairperson, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR).
Speaking on the role of the Mkenya Daima in the run-up to the general elections, Ms Cheruto said that elections are a very important part of our society, not just to the political leaders but to all others including the business community. “This is why KEPSA and other stakeholders including the Business community, Civil society, Religious Sector, Non-State Actors, Media and Organized Sector Groups came together to start the Mkenya Daima initiative.” She said.
Ms Cheruto went further and underscore the three pillars which are:
- Political Pillar – Focusing on Leadership and Governance.
- Economic Pillar – Focusing on People-Centred and Economy-led Manifestos.
- Social Pillar – Focusing on Peaceful elections and smooth transition.
“Let us look into all the six elective positions and choose the right leaders for the country. Let us bring back the responsibility to ourselves and say ‘Nitatenda Wajibu Wangu’.” She concluded.
While highlighting IEBC’s measures to ensure security, Juliana Cherera said that the institution has continued to engage several security stakeholders including the National Police Services (NPS) and the Independent Police Oversight Authority (IPOA) to ensure the institution conducts free and fair elections on 9th August. “We have also deployed a rapid security program, International Ideas Election Risk Management software, to detect early security warnings and receive the country’s overview of the security situation.” She said.
Mr Abdulaziz Farah mentioned that NCIC has instituted a roadmap toward a peaceful election through the “Elections Bila Noma campaign” which advocates for peace, especially in those areas where violence is likely to occur. “We have also launched the Action against hate speech plan which is one of its kind in the region, targeting to deal with speeches that could create tension in the country.” He spoke.
While speaking about how the Office of the DPP will ensure the rule of law is upheld, Victor Mule said that the organization has trained its prosecutors and investigation agencies on election-related conflicts and issues as well as formed Interagency cooperation with IPOA, NCIC, and others. Mr Mule also requested IEBC to grant ODPP an Observer status as was done in 2017.
According to Ms Roseline Odede, the focus of the KNHCR in this year’s elections is to have a Human Rights compliant election where the rights of women, children, and marginalized groups are protected. “We have engaged the Presidential candidate and they have signed the nominee elections and signed the Human Rights compliant pledge, where they have committed to uphold the right of all people.” She also mentioned that KNHRC has engaged the National Police Service (NPS) in Human Rights-based policing and crowd control.
Speaking on the role of the media in ensuring peace and security, Mr David Omwoyo said that the Media Council of Kenya has trained journalists in conflict-sensitive journalism training to ensure that the Media does not fuel tension and violence. “We have planned several debates with the political aspirants to ensure an issues-based campaign. In these elections, the media has played a huge role in cutting out inciteful language and comments from their content that only proper content is aired to the consumers.” He said. The Conference is designed to include the participation of state and non-state actors from the National and County Governments as well as international and local experts.