The election commission that oversaw Kenya’s flawed 2013 polls and was tarnished by a corruption scandal will receive a $2 million pay-off in return for agreeing to leave office early, local media reported Thursday. The nine commissioners will share the pot of cash, according to local newspaper reports. Statements issued by both the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the government said they had “agreed on the terms for a dignified vacation from office for current IEBC commissioners”. The government said it had sought to “strike a balance between public interest, legal and constitutional demands, the contract of appointment to office of each Commissioner and the guidelines of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission,” but did not state publicly what the exit package was worth.
IEBC chairman Isaack Hassan insisted that he and his team were “not a stumbling block in the preparation of the next general election,” but nonetheless agreed to step down.
Violent opposition-led protests in May and June against the election commission — seen as biased in favour of President Uhuru Kenyatta — forced the government to the negotiating table.
The IEBC has been mired in controversy since its establishment in 2010, when it replaced a discredited body that had presided over the disputed election of 2007 which triggered politically-motivated ethnic violence that killed over 1,100 people.
Full Article: Kenya’s controversial election commission quits.
