Speaking to reporters following the presentation of the bills to the ministry of justice, the Chairperson of National Constitutional Amendment Committee (NCAC) Gichira Kibara said the bill aim at amendment of the elections and anti-corruption acts in order to conform with the revitalized peace agreement.
“We have presented both bills and they make radical changes to the current laws to ensure that the laws conform with the best practices concerning conducting free, fair elections and also with regards to having a comprehensive legal framework for the fight against corruption,” Kibara said.
“So, with regards to the Elections Act, we have made changes with regards to the independence of the commission. We expect that the national elections commission will be independent and will be able to conduct free and fair elections,” he added.
Commissioner Gichira said they have also improved several processes necessary for the elections including elections petitions, setting up polling centers, and timelines for publishing voter registers.
“We have looked at all those issues and we hope that we have a much better law even in terms of creating the offenses for people who interfere with the elections process so that the elections process is free and fair,” he said.
“We have also reformed the laws substantially ensuring that there is a clear definition of corruption so that all those offenses can be prosecuted. We have also provided for the power of the anti-corruption commission to prosecute which is in accordance with the current constitution.
“The current law does not provide for the commission to prosecute because it is based on the interim constitution. We have made sure that the anti-corruption commission now can both investigate and prosecute the corruption cases.”