IEBC clears 8 out of 32 Nairobi senatorial aspirants
The race for the Nairobi Senatorial position has attracted 32 aspirants with only eight having been cleared to vie in the August 9 poll.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) cleared Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party Secretary General Edwin Sifuna on Tuesday, May 31, 2022, to battle it out with United Democratic Alliance (UDA)’s candidate Bishop Margaret Wanjiru.
Sifuna who will be vying for the position a second time said that he will now embark on a door to door campaign not only for his bid but for all Azimio candidates in Nairobi its Presidential candidate Raila Odinga.
“We will now embark on a door to door campaign so that we capture this seat. I am not competing against anyone but am in this race to provide oversight and ensure that the Governor who is elected offers quality service to the Nairobians,” Sifuna said.
The Nairobi Senatorial candidate on an ODM ticket further charged that if elected, he will ensure that the problems facing the electorate are addressed, adding that the cost of living, cost of electricity and the cost of basic commodities are lowered.
He said that both the County and the National government are accountable to the people and that the services that the people desire are offered to the highest standards.
“The cost of living in this country and especially here in Nairobi is very high. We must have a government that is accountable to the people. We must address the cost of living, the cost of rent and the cost of basic commodities like flour,” he said.
Edwin Sifuna urges IEBC to block certain aspirants from vying
At the same time Sifuna said that while it is the democratic right of every Kenyan to seek elective positions in the country, there is an abuse of the electoral process by people who are not genuine in their political intentions.
He said that there are some aspirants who are seeking elective positions but do not even campaign but only want to appear on the ballot paper and crowd polling stations with many agents.
“There is an obvious abuse of the electoral process by people who are clearly not genuine in their intentions. They do not even campaign. I suspect they are sponsored to make the ballots unnecessarily long and expensive and cause confusion on election day,” Sifuna said.
He went on: “Imagine the chaos in the polling stations if all these "candidates " insist on an agent each. Something is clearly afoot.”
Sifuna explained that there are some aspirants who would get the minimum threshold of 48,000 signatures with copies of IDs but during the election day they only get less than 10,000 votes, questioning the authenticity of how those signatures are acquired.
On Monday, Bishop Wanjiru was cleared to vie in the August polls against main challenger Sifuna who was given the green light yesterday.
On April 9, Wanjiru announced that she will be vying for the Nairobi Senate seat after stepping down for Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja who is flying the UDA ticket for Nairobi.
The former Assistant Minister and Starehe MP announced that she quit the race for Senator Johnstone Sakaja who will now fly the UDA party ticket.
