The discredited Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) will have to ride another storm as civil society groups begin to push for its disbandment ahead of crucial by-elections set for June.

The civil society says the ECK "lacks the moral authority to conduct an election after it bungled last year's polls".

ECK commissioners, according to the group and a former MP, "displayed unbelievable inability in conducting free and fair elections as witnessed last year".

They are now calling on President Kibaki to form an impartial committee to oversee the by-elections for the five constituencies - Kilgoris, Emuhaya, Wajir North, Ainamoi and Embakasi - on June 11.

The group has threatened to mobilise Kenyans to boycott voting in the mini-polls if ECK has its way.

Mr Hassan Omar, a commissioner with the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), said: "We call for the disbandment of ECK. Giving them another chance after proving their incapability to being independent is legitimising people who lack public confidence." The official said the post-election violence that left more than 1,000 people dead and 350,000 others displaced was a direct result of ECK's actions.

"The commissioners should not be in office. They should instead be prosecuted for criminal acts against Kenyans," Omar, who also said civil rights groups across the country will be mobilised to "stop this injustice", told The Standard on the telephone on Sunday.

He regretted that instead of the commissioners resigning honourably, the ECK was now using public money to hire a public relations company to clear its dented image and defend themselves.

Haki focus director, Mr Harun Ndubi, said it was not possible for Kenyans to trust ECK.

"Lack of trust on the electoral body means that elections will never be considered free and fair," said Ndubi.

On its part, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) urged Kenyans not to participate in any election conducted by ECK "as is presently constituted".

Mr Evans Monari, a council member of the LSK, said: "The ECK is under investigation and it should not be allowed to conduct the by-elections. It is upon them to do the right thing and resign. They are to blame for the post-election violence."

He urged President Kibaki to set up a "proper tribunal" to investigate ECK Chairman, Mr Samuel Kivuitu, and his team, terming the Kriegler Commission "a lame duck".

The National Civil Society Congress co-convener, Mr Sam Ongoro, said his organisation would present a dossier to the Kriegler commission on ECK's conduct in last year's elections.

"We will present independent findings on ECK and how they bungled the polls. We will appear before the commission when they call us, but only if assured of witness protection since the dossier is damaging," said Ongoro.

He added: "We do not want ECK to preside over another election since we don't believe in it."

On Friday, Kivuitu released the by-elections timetable for the polls in the five constituencies. The announcement elicited angry reactions from leaders across the board and renewed calls for his resignation and that of his discredited team.

Yesterday, Safina leader, Mr Paul Muite, called for the reconstitution of the ECK before the June by-elections.

Muite said it would not be acceptable for the ECK as currently constituted to run the repeat polls.

"A majority of the commissioners are partisan, having being handpicked by one side of the political divide. Elections are like justice - they must not only be free and fair, but they must also be perceived to have been free and fair," said Muite.

Instead, he urged for "an urgent constitutional amendment" to be fast-tracked in Parliament to put in place a professional ECK to conduct all future elections.

Muite said the commissioners who have defied demands for resignation should be sent home through the amendment he proposed.

Muite, a former MP, said the minimum reforms negotiated among parties in the run up to last year's elections should be taken to the House and implemented before the June repeat elections.

Last year, there was a proposal to reduce the number of commissioners from 22 to nine. And that the nine be recruited on merit, have relevant experience and take into account Kenya's regional diversity and gender.

Parliament would have to approve the proposals before new commissioners were formally appointed and the new ECK given operational budgetary autonomy.

Muite suggested that the ECK hires a secretariat of young and well-trained Kenyans headed by a director of elections.

"The secretariat should undertake most of the work sought to be done by the commissioners who are untrained and ill-equipped for such work," the former Kabete MP, who chaired last Parliament's Committee of Administration of Justice and Legal reforms, claimed.

Trouble spots

He said Embakasi could, for example, easily become a flashpoint constituency with the potential to trigger off fresh violence if the outcome of the repeat polls was disputed.

ODM MPs have urged President Kibaki to dissolve the commission to pave way for a parliamentary committee to preside over the by-election.

Immigration minister, Mr Otieno Kajwang', and Assistant minister, Mr Omingo Magara, have called for the disbandment of ECK and the setting up of an ad hoc committee to oversee the polls.

In its report on the last election, the European Union (EU) election observer team criticised the ECK, saying it failed to meet "international standards of transparency in key areas of its mandate during last year's polls".

Released early this month, the EU accused the ECK of presiding over a faulty tallying of presidential election results, making it difficult to determine conclusively who won.

The report recommended that ECK be overhauled to build confidence in its independence and professionalism.