Repeat polls start Thursday in FKF sub-branches

The Football Kenya Federation Electoral Board has said it will conclude the federation’s elections on February 10.

In a statement sent to newsrooms on Tuesday, the board said repeat elections will be held tomorrow in sub-branches where results of the first exercise were disputed, while branch elections will be held on January 26.

The statement, signed by the board’s chairman Donald Kipkorir, said national elections will be held on February 10. The dates for the elections have been spread out allow the board adequate time to listen to appeals and complaints that may arise.

“The Electoral Board has rescheduled new dates for the completion of elections at the sub-branch, branch and national level. The dates are January 14, 26 and February 10 respectively,” the statement said in part.

“We have staggered the dates to enable full participation of stakeholders and for any complaints that may arise to be solved,” added the statement.
The process resumes Thursday, with fresh elections in Makadara, Nyahururu and Machakos sub-branches.

Early last month, the board cancelled the elections indefinitely after results in some sub-branches were disputed. Seven sub-branches filed complaints of irregularities with the FKF Elections Appeals Board.

The Kipokorir-led board was forced to postpone the process for the seventh time. No further direction had been issued by the board until Tuesday.

FKF president Sam Nyamweya, who is defending his seat, expressed delight at the announcement, saying that the elections are long overdue.

“This announcement is timely. Every concerned party was growing restless about the constant delay,” Nyamweya said on Tuesday.

Former Youth Fund boss Gor Semelang’o and ex-Kenyan international Sammy Sholei, who are both seeking the presidency, also welcomed the announcement.

“This is a very bad precedent that the board has set, and I hope that they will conclude this process without any further delays. Kenyans deserve to have duly elected and functional FKF office by now,” said Semelang’o.

“Everybody knows that the elections have dragged on for far too long. It is a good thing that they have issued a way forward, now let them finish up by delivering free and fair elections,” Sholei added.

Electoral board member Steve Mburu said the exercise has dragged on due to the lengthy and tedious process of collecting the participants’ data manually, but was quick to assure Kenyans that the next phase of elections will be smooth.