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New Poll Law Seeks to Curb Vote Buying

Campaign spending will be limited by new election laws in a move aimed at levelling the political playing field. Candidates who break the financial and other rules will face stiff penalties. This is among a raft of radical changes that have been introduced in the just published Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Act. The new Act also seeks to ensure that the new organ supervising elections has both financial and legal muscle to punish those who flout the rules. The provisions in the Act, which sets up the commission to supervise the elections, were apparently crafted to ensure that electoral malpractices of the past — some of which triggered the 2008 post-election violence — do not recur.The Act seeks to cushion the IEBC from the financial woes that dogged previous commissions by setting up an IEBC fund from which they will draw their salaries, allowances and other benefits. The fund will be under the control of the IEBC secretary.

Source: The Daily Nation, Pg 1 & 4

Date: Wednesday, 20 Jul 2011