NAIROBI, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- An official of Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), Roselyn Akombe, resigned on Wednesday, calling for a halt to next week's presidential elections.
In a statement released from New York, Commissioner Akombe said there is need for the regulatory body to be courageous and speak out. The election slated for Oct. 26 cannot meet the basic expectations of a credible election, the statement said.
Akombe alleged a partisan approach by some of her colleagues, saying "it has become increasingly difficult to continue attending plenary meetings where commissioners come ready to vote along partisan lines and not to discuss the merit of issues before them."
The IEBC commissioner was supposed to inspect the printing of the ballot papers in Dubai,the United Arab Emirates, but instead went to the United States.
Akombe had become the face of the IEBC by conducting virtually all media interviews on its behalf. She said she had tried her best, given the circumstances, but "it has become increasingly difficult to appear on television to defend positions I disagree with in the name of collective responsibility."
The current political conditions did not exist when the Supreme Court issued orders on Sept. 1 to organize the presidential election within 60 days, she said.
The poll standoff between the ruling coalition led by President Uhuru Kenyatta and the opposition coalition, the National Super Alliance, occurred after the leader of the latter, Raila Odinga withdrew from the repeat polls, accusing the IEBC of failing to implement the reforms requested by them.
Akombe said next week's presidential poll should be postponed in light of the ongoing political turmoil and disagreements among the stakeholders.
She said she had shared detailed reports from staff in the four counties in Western Kenya most hit by the ongoing protests -- Nairobi, Siaya, Kisumu, and Homa Bay, hoping it would bring sobriety to the IEBC's decision making.
"Instead, this was met with more extremist responses from most commissioners, who are keen to have an election even if it is at the cost of the lives of our staff and voters," she said.
The IEBC staff are getting last-minute instructions on changes in technology and electronic transmission of results. In some parts of the country, the training of presiding officers is being rushed for fear of attacks from protestors, she added.
