Why candidates dread March 26 IEBC deadline
ODM leader Raila Odinga has less than one month to decide whether he will be in ODM or Azimio La Umoja coalition party to vie for President in the coming elections.
The law requires that any candidate must belong to a registered party by March 26 if they are to vie for any office in the August polls unless they are running as independent candidates.
Despite the date closing in, it emerged yesterday that Azimio La Umoja coalition party has not been registered yet, narrowing the options for Raila with only three weeks to the deadline.
Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu said anyone who intends to run on a party had no option but to find one and make sure they are fully registered by the date.
“The Elections Act requires IEBC to have the parties’ membership list 120 days to the elections (by April 9). Before then, the law requires the Registrar to have the registers fourteen days before IEBC gets them. If you look at the timelines, then March 26 is the day we should have the lists before we transfer them to the IEBC,” Nderitu told People Daily yesterday.
Raila has been shoved into a dilemma as it is not clear which party he would run on following the formation of Azimio coalition that seeks to bring on board dozens of political parties supporting his presidential bid.
Azimio proponents, including President Uhuru Kenyatta, who have been pushing for its formation want Raila to be the coalition’s candidate despite the risk it might swallow the identity of some member parties like ODM. It remains unclear why Azimio remains unregistered as a party with only a few weeks to the deadline it must be in place.
The failure by One Kenya Alliance led by Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka to make a quick decision whether to join it or not is said to have delayed its official unveiling last weekend and could also be delaying its registration. Other members of OKA are Senator Gideon Moi (Kanu leader), Martha Karua (Narc-K) and Cyrus Jirongo (UDP).
It is, however, the same case with Kenya Kwanza Alliance bringing together Deputy President William Ruto and his partners Musalia Mudavadi and Moses Wetangula who are Amani National Congress and Ford Kenya leaders respectively.
“We do not have a party named Azimio yet but the name has been reserved. It is the same with Kenya Kwanza, the name has only been reserved,” the Registrar said.
In the previous three General Elections, Raila has been the ODM candidate enjoying all attendant accompaniments associated with the party including having an orange as his symbol.
In 2013 and 2017, for instance, when he was in Cord and Nasa coalitions respectively, he remained an ODM candidate as the Political Parties Act did not allow his name to appear on the ballot paper as any alliance’s candidate. The law was recently amended to enable any aspirant to have their name in the ballot as a coalition’s candidate and it was largely expected to benefit the Azimio camp.
Coalition friction
However, it is emerging that the amendments could be causing further friction because it is not clear the place of a coalition party in the law and how it should participate in the elections. Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jr said those who drafted it might have been in a hurry adding it was still not possible for a candidate to appear in a ballot paper with symbols representing a coalition. “I heard somewhere that this law will give you the benefit of having in the presidential ballot a coalition symbol instead of party’s symbols, it is not a fact, it is not in the law,” said Mutula Jr while appearing in a local TV show. The senator claimed the law, which was adopted by both Houses in January despite spirited opposition from Ruto’s camp, was passed in a hurry in Parliament without proper interrogation of what a coalition party is.
“I suggested that it should be a coalition of political parties not a coalition political party because they are not the same,” the senator, who is seeking the county’s governorship in August, added.
The parties are busy compiling their party lists ahead of the March 26 deadline.
Yesterday, ODM urged aspirants seeking to vie on the party to submit their applications by March 13.
In a notice, Chairperson of the party’s National Elections Board, Catherine Mumma, said they will make applications for governor, senator, MP, woman representative and MCA.
“All aspirants are advised to familiarise themselves with the Constitution, 2010 of Kenya and the laws relating to elections, the Party’s constitution and party primaries and nomination rules and to ensure that their applications meet all the standards/ requirements stipulated in the laws,” she said. At the same time, UDA, led by DP Ruto, extended the period for obtaining nomination papers from February 28 to March 5 in a bid to accommodate more aspirants.
“Aspirants are encouraged to take advantage of this extension and the ongoing aspirants verification process to verify their details ahead of the party’s nominations,” the party advised.
