Kriegler Commission

The Kriegler Commission, officially The Independent Review Commission (IREC), was an international commission of inquiry established by the Government of Kenya in February 2008 to Inquire into all aspects of the 2007 General elections with particular emphasis on the presidential elections.

Background

The commission carried out its mandate in the aftermath of the 2007–2008 Kenyan crisis.

Terms of Reference

The terms of reference were as follows:^[1]

To Analyze the constitutional and legal framework and identify weaknesses and inconsistencies in the electoral laws;
To Examine the organizational structure, composition and management system of the ECK;
To Examine public participation in the 2007 electoral processes;
To Investigate the organization and conduct of the 2007 electoral operations including civic and voter education among others;
To Investigate vote counting and tallying at all levels: and
To assess the functional efficiency of ECK to discharge its mandate.

Members

A former South African judge Justice Johann Kriegler was appointed to lead a panel of experts investigating Kenya's disputed 2007 presidential elections.^[2] The members of the team were:^[3]

Report

The commission found that there were too many electoral malpractices from several regions perpetrated by all the contesting parties to conclusively establish which candidate won the December 2007 Presidential elections. Such malpractices included widespread bribery, vote buying, intimidation and ballot stuffing by both sides, as well as incompetence from the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), which was shortly thereafter disbanded by the new Parliament.^[4]

Cost

In response to a query by Joseph Lekuton, on 16 December 2008, Orwa Ojode the Assistant Minister for Provincial Administration and Internal Security confirmed to parliament that the commission had cost Kshs 49,448,459 with the Kenya Government contributing Kshs 48,136,789 and donors contributing Kshs 1,311,470.^[5]

References

^ Kriegler Commission Simplified Report
^ BBC NEWS | Africa | SA judge to probe Kenya election
^ "President appoints a commission of inquiry". Archived from the original on 2013-09-28. Retrieved 2012-12-29.
^ IREC Executive Summary Archived 2009-02-05 at the Wayback Machine. communication.go.ke
^ Kenya National Assembly Official Record (Hansard). 16 December 2008. p. 4107. Retrieved 8 January 2013.

External links

Report of the Independent Review Commission on the General Elections held in Kenya on 27th December, 2007

[1] Kriegler Commission Simplified Report

[2] BBC NEWS | Africa | SA judge to probe Kenya election

[3] "President appoints a commission of inquiry". Archived from the original on 2013-09-28. Retrieved 2012-12-29.

[4] IREC Executive Summary Archived 2009-02-05 at the Wayback Machine. communication.go.ke

[Kenya_National_Assembly_Official_Record_(Hansard)-5] Kenya National Assembly Official Record (Hansard). 16 December 2008. p. 4107. Retrieved 8 January 2013.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]