BBI copies sent to County Assemblies were from promoters of the Bill – Wafula Chebukati

BBI copies sent to County Assemblies were from promoters of the Bill – Chebukati

Brian Oruta

April 23, 2021 10:38 AM

Reports said 34 County Assemblies debated the wrong format of the BBI document

IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has distanced itself from reports that 34 county assemblies received and debated the wrong format of the Building Bridges Initiative document.

In a statement, IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati said on December 10, they received six copies of the draft Constitutional Amendment Bill 2020 alongside details of the supporters which they went on to verify.

Upon completion of the verification exercise, the electoral commission requested for additional copies of the BBI from its promoters for distribution to the County Assemblies, which they delivered on the same day.

The IEBC Chairman said they received 57 copies of the BBI document and sent 47 to the County Assemblies.

“In compliance with Article 257(4) of the Constitution of Kenya, the Commission undertook verification exercise and ascertained that the one Million supporter’s threshold had been met.

On October 26^th January 2021, the Commission requested the BBI promoters for additional printed copies of the Bill for onward transmission to the County Assemblies. On the same date, the BBI Promoters delivered to the Commission fifty-seven printed copies of the Bill, out of which the Commission submitted forty-seven copies to the County Assemblies,” said Wafula Chebukati.

Chebukati’s statement comes a few days after it was reported that 34 counties debated the wrong format of the BBI document, and only 12 counties debated and approved the correct format of the BBI document.

Parliament’s Joint Justice and Legal Affairs Committee released a report stating that there are three different formats of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) constitutional amendment document, which were sent to County Assemblies.

BBI Taskforce Joint Secretary, Paul Mwangi however, dismissed reports that the counties passed the wrong document, insisting that only one document was submitted to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

He added that the people pushing the narrative are only after delaying the date set for the expected BBI referendum.

Brian Oruta