Both Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) and the Council of Governors (CoG) have launched their process of collecting signatures for their separate referenda.
William Rutto, CoG chairman and the leader of Pesa Mashinani campaign, said at the launch last month, “we want to collect as many signatures as possible to prove the support we have from Kenyans … We have launched this initiative of collecting the signatures, there is nothing to stop us now because the train has left the station.”
Unless things change, the country could have two distinct referenda – and the economic implication may be great. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) and the Commission for Implementationof the Constitution (CIC) say both CORD and CoG are free to call for plebiscites.
“Referendums are always held in between elections and those saying that its too early and expensive for a referendum should be told the new constitution was passed in 2010 and so its amendment is long overdue,” CORD leader Raila Odinga says. In just a week after the launch last August, the Coalition’s Okoa Kenya push had collected 600,000, its organisers reported.
But the Presidency doesn’t want to hear any of it. “Governors should stop their calls for referendum and instead prudently use what has been allocated to them for the benefit of Kenyans first. After that, if they still feel it is still not enough, they can seek more,” President Uhuru Kenyatta says.
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