Independents fight for share of nomination seats
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission chairman Wafula Chebukati reads a statement on August 11, 2017 at the Bomas of Kenya, which was the national tallying centre. A lobby wants IEBC to reserve nomination seats for independent candidates. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The highest number of candidates in the run-up to the elections was that of independents, at 3,752.
A lobby for independent candidates wants the electoral agency to reserve nomination seats for them.
The contenders, through the Independents Society, said the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is soon likely to publish the names of people nominated by political parties to the Senate, the National Assembly and county assemblies.
“This gazettement can happen very soon, especially because the political parties have already submitted their nomination lists to the IEBC, which could quickly apply the proportionality rule to nominate people to the seats we are claiming,” lawyer Wanyiro Kihoro says in court papers.
ELECTIONS
He said the independent candidates are entitled to nominate lawmakers on the proportionality rule, even though they had not done so in the past.
The highest number of candidates in the run-up to the elections was that of independents, at 3,752.
They were trailed by the Jubilee Party (1,801), ODM (1,289) and Maendeleo Chap Chap (911), according to data from the IEBC.
FRUSTRATE
Mr Kihoro said the winning independent candidates are now seeking the protection of the court to get their proportionate share of the nominations in the national and county assemblies after the elections.
“If the independents were to be left out during the round of nominations, this would occasion great hardship and complication to get back their seats in that the undeserving allottees could then use every means at their disposal to dig in and frustrate a deserved reversal of the nominations,” Mr Kihoro said.
The case will be heard on August 25.
