Festus Mogae who is the former Botswana president has quit as a lead observer on Kenya’s general elections days to the D-day.
A statement that was issued by the commonwealth stated that he former President has quit his role in the upcoming elections.
The statement read, “Due to unforeseen circumstances, former president of Botswana has had to withdraw form the coming election in Kenya.”
Festus Mogae who is also the JMEC chairman was to chairing for the second time in Kenya. In 2013, the former president led a team of panelist who were used to observe the general elections.
The former president will be replaced by the former Jamaican Prime minister, Bruce Golding.
After the statement was issued, Bruce showed his acceptance and wished Kenyans leaders could also support the move.
He said, “Just as politicians have made a commitment to a peaceful election, we urge stakeholders, including the electorate ,to commit to doing the same, consistent with the commonwealth’s values and principles.”
He went ahead to state how elections are very crucial in a country’s democracy. He said that through elections citizens are able to choose leaders who will fuel the country forward,
- In the statement, ” We know how important elections are in a democracy; they empower the people to choose representatives who will in turn, make decisions on their behalf.”
The observers team had arrived in Kenya upon invitation by the commonwealth secretary general. Their work is to monitor the whole election process.
Apart from observing, they will have to travel countrywide to get a clearer map of how the elections are being conducted, how campaigns are held and how the country is prepared
The observers team will afterwards write a report of their findings to the commonwealth on 11th of August after the process of elections has come to an end.