Mwendwa challenges federation to release full list of clubs

Football Kenya Federation (FKF) presidential aspirant Nick Mwendwa on Friday challenged the national body to publish the full list of clubs drawn from the 20 branches eligible to vote in the forthcoming elections.

FKF on Wednesday released an initial list of 1,712 clubs drawn from 13 of its 20 branches to the dislike of disgruntled clubs and delegates.

Mwendwa urged the federation to move swiftly in addressing the contentious issues arising from the list with some clubs crying foul.

“The federation must expedite the process of publishing the full list and at the same time ensure it is genuine and a reflection of the real football stakeholders in the country,” Mwendwa said.

The Kariobangi Sharks chairman, who is bidding to unseat Sam Nyamweya, also raised issues about the credibility of the club vetting process, maintaining that the electoral board chaired by lawyer Donald Kipkorir should vet the clubs.

“We spoke to Kipkorir about our concerns and we are waiting to see whether he will heed our call of ensuring we have a free and fair election process,” he said in Nairobi while presiding over the awarding ceremony of the Nairobi Champions Cup.

Mwendwa remained adamant that the election dates should not be moved, noting that it would delay a new office from brining change in football in the country.

He said the current office, whose term expires on October 26, must not be allowed to continue running football affairs in the country.

ELECTION RULES

Meanwile, Football Kenya Federation on Friday published the election rules and regulations for the national exercise slated to begin on October 29 at the sub-branch level. The guidelines were published on the federation’s portal. The modified dates of the national elections will be released next week.

All candidates vying for the President, Vice President or the National Executive Council membership will be required to have played an active role in local football for the last two years before being considered for office. This means that any candidate contesting for any of these senior national positions must have been either a NEC member, a referee (or assistant referee), coach, trainer, player or any other person responsible for technical, medical or administrative matters in a local club for the last two years.

This candidate will also be required to be proposed by members of the federation, and (s)he will also need to produce written declarations of support from at least five members of the federation. Federation members (delegates) will be allowed to nominate one candidate each. Members seeking to vie for the chairmanship of FKF will need to notify the federation’s secretariat in writing 15 days to the elections date, and authorised candidates will be allowed to campaign until the day before the election dates.

To be recognised as a viable candidate, interested individuals will need to pay nomination fees of Sh50, 000 for the President’s and Deputy President’s position, Sh25, 000 for the NEC membership, Sh10, 000 for the branch officials and Sh5, 000 for the position of Sub-branch official within the stipulated deadline.

The polls will be conducted using the Secret Ballot system, but while all candidates for the National, Branch and Sub-branch elections will be determined by the candidate with the highest votes, persons vying for the presidency and vice presidency will be required to garner more than half of the total votes cast.

If none of the candidates obtained the simple majority after the first ballot and there are more than three candidates for one available position, the three candidates that obtain the highest number of votes will remain for the following ballot. In anticipation of disputes, the guidelines provide aggrieved persons with the opportunity to file their grievances (in writing) to the Appeals Committee that was inaugurated last weekend, and the appellate body’s decision will be final.

Appeals will however attract a surcharge of Sh250, 000 for cases involving the President or Vice President positions, Sh150, 000 for cases involving the NEC members, Sh100, 000 in respect of cases brought by Branch members and Sh50, 000 for disputes raised at the Sub-branch level.