Presidential candidates oppose requirement of signatures

This year’s presidential race is a crowded one. The electoral commission has announced a total of 19 presidential candidates, eight among them candidates from political parties and 11 running as independent candidates.

Besides the two established candidates – President Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga – there are also 17 other candidates who have fiercely complained about not receiving enough media coverage.

GET SIGNATURES

Recently, the IEBC dealt the independent presidential aspirants a blow when it announced that they require 48,000 signatures, at least 2,000 from 24 counties from supporters who do not belong to any political party.

This new requirement has received a lot of criticism from some of the independent candidates who claim that the IEBC is out to “trap” them and unfairly lock them out of the presidential race.

Some independent candidates such as Nazlin Umar have vowed to challenge the new requirement in court.

PROFILE

The list of “other” presidential candidates is a cocktail of veterans and new entrants, professors and former presidential advisor, lawyers and teachers, as well as some names that Kenyans are hearing for the first time.

It was impossible profile the entire list of 17 “other presidential candidates”, so here is a list of five aspirants that stand out.

Mohammed Abduba Dida

Dida, 43, shot to fame in 2013 when he ran for the presidential elections on Alliance of Real Change party ticket.

The former English and Literature teacher at Lenana School shocked many when he got a total of 52,848 votes, beating veterans like Martha Karua.

Now he is back and he is asking Kenyans to ditch tribal voting and to stop “depending on failures”.

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Nazlin Umar Fazaldin Rajput

If Nazlin Umar were to become president today, she would have made history on two fronts.

First as the first female president, and second as the first Muslim president.

She disagrees with anyone who accuses Kenyans of being tribal and instead says that Kenyans are victims of tribal demagogues who have imposed falsified perceptions about tribes.

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Dr Ekuru Aukot
He is one of the many lawyers Kenyans have to thank for helping draw up the Constitution of Kenya (2010).

The man from Kapedo village in Turkana County was among the first who announced his candidature for the presidency in March 2016 through the party Thirdway Alliance.

He is the son of Mzee Aukot Tarkus and hails from a polygamous family of 27 children. He wants to end endemic graft.

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Joe Nyagah

This week, Joe Nyagah launched his presidential bid and announced that he has already passed the hurdle of 48,000 signatures by amassing 60,000 signatures, 2,000 from 30 counties.

Nyagah, resigned as a presidential advisor on regional integration and chancellor of the Co-operative college, citing frustrations caused by internal fighting within top Jubilee leaders.

Born in 1948, Nyagah is a veteran politician.

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Muthiora Kariara

The 35-year-old former employee of Consolidated Bank dreams of a “tribe-all” nation and vows to “unite Kenyans by all means”.

He also promises “zero tolerance” on corruption and promises to jail hatemongers.

Kariara was born in Isbania town in Kuria West, Migori County, and attended Kanga High School because his parents could not afford to take to Mangu High School where he had been admitted.

He scored an A-minus all the same and joined University of Nairobi to pursue a Bachelor of Science (Mathematics) degree.

He is currently pursuing an MBA at the same university.