African countries have been encouraged not to use the Covid-19 situation as an excuse to postpone elections, but rather to put in place safeguards to ensure electoral integrity.
The Pan-African Lawyers Union (PALU) stated in a statement released on Saturday that the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights was not asked whether a government can or should postpone elections.
Lawyers Donald Deya (Tanzania), Ibrahima Kane (Senegal), and Chidi Anselm Odinkalu (Nigeria) said the court advised AU member states in its advisory opinion to ensure free and fair elections throughout the epidemic without interfering on voters’ and candidates’ rights.
“From the point of view of proportionality, the postponement of elections must be a last resort, without which it will not be possible to protect the health and lives of the people and ensure the integrity of the electoral process,” read the statement.
“In the event, a country postpones the election as prescribed in its local laws, there must be consultation between political actors, health authorities and representatives of other stakeholders.”
Here in Kenya
Chad, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Gambia, Morocco, South Africa, and Zambia are among the African countries that have had elections since 2020.
After the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (Cotu) boss Francis Atwoli proposed it, election delay remains a sensitive subject in Kenya.
Some MPs, led by Ndaragua MP Jeremiah Kioni, are preparing a petition to the High Court to postpone the election date so that the Electoral Boundaries and Commission (IEBC) can perform border delimitation.
The MPs say that the measure is intended to avoid a constitutional crisis by holding an election with illegitimate electoral units.
