Committee optimistic about Kisumu remaining peaceful during electioneering time

 

The Committee of Eminent Persons in Kisumu County led by its Chairperson Bishop Kasuku Kalolo address the media where it said it is optimistic that Kisumu will remain peaceful during the electioneering period-Story and Photo By Dickson Odhiambo

By Dickson Odhiambo

August 7, 2022

Committee optimistic about Kisumu remaining peaceful during electioneering time

A COMMITTEE of Eminent Persons in Kisumu County is very optimistic that the region will remain peaceful during the electioneering period.

The Kisumu Committee of Eminent Persons says Kisumu has shown tremendous progress in terms of being peaceful before this forthcoming polls on Tuesday next week and is expected to remain so during and after the General Election.

Addressing the press during a media briefing, the Committee Chairperson Bishop Kasuku Kalolo said the past three General elections of 2007, 2013 and 2017 have made Kisumu to witness electoral violence but it has recovered and fully embrace peace ahead of next week’s polls.

“The events of the past three elections threatened peace here in Kisumu and it is for this reason that various stakeholders in Kisumu have partnered with the International Republican Institute {IRI} to ensure that as the country heads to election next week, the ugly events at the pocket of the election related violence remain a thing of the past,” Kalolo says

Kalolo says Kisumu has presented itself as an industrial hub and a number of investors have invested in various businesses since peace has been prevailing after the 2017 polls and the March 2018 handshake between the outgoing President Uhuru Kenyatta and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga who is one Presidential candidates in the forthcoming polls.

Kalolo says through a series of consultations, major stakeholders in Kisumu County selected a 12 member committee of eminent persons to diffuse and mitigate electoral dispute through open dialogue.

“For the past three weeks, this committee which is comprised of the religious leaders, business community leaders, civil society leaders and Elders has been able to meet key electoral actors in Kisumu County to understand and diffuse the threats of peace before, during and after the election,” he says in a press statement he read to the media.

He adds that the Committee also sought to know the level of preparedness by the state actors in ensuring that the electoral process would be peaceful before, during and after the poll.

“We have met the business community leaders, Boda Boda leadership, peace committees, Media, Political leadership, state Actors that include IEBC , members of the public and  the County Commissioner,” he adds.

He further says the state actors have assured the committee of putting adequate measures in place to ensure that the electoral process will be peaceful.

“In case of any electoral disputes, political leaders in Kisumu County have committed to use peaceful dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve any dispute they may have related to the election,” he further say.

The Committee’s Secretary Margaret Oluoch says IEBC have confirmed to it about meeting the political candidates in Kisumu County plus their agents to guide them on the electoral process ahead of next week’s poll.

She says during  the committee’s meeting with IEBC officials in Kisumu County, it emerged that the Commission is coordinating with the Ministry of Interior and National Government Coordination to ensure that there is adequate security within the various polling stations and tallying centers.

“Voters should therefore have trust on the mechanisms put in place to ensure the integrity of the electoral process in this election. We urge voters to exercise their democratic then right vote peacefully and react to the election outcome positively,” Oluoch says.