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President Kibaki with EALA Speaker Abdirahin Abdi (robed), Kenyan Speaker Kenneth Marende and some EALA MPs/ FILE

Kenya

118 Kenyans to battle for 9 EALA slots

President Kibaki with EALA Speaker Abdirahin Abdi (robed), Kenyan Speaker Kenneth Marende and some EALA MPs/ FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 17 – A record 118 candidates will square it out for the nine slots available for Kenya in the East African Legislative Assembly (EALA).

The names have been forwarded to joint chief whips of the coalition government for the main political parties nominate their members after closure of the seven-day application period on Thursday.

Clerk of the National Assembly Patrick Gichohi said joint chief Whips Johnson Muthama (PNU) and Jakoyo Midiwo (ODM) will now take the lists of applicants to their parties for nomination.

Previously the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) had taken up five of the nine slots because it is the majority party in Parliament. However, there is looming trouble after ODM rebels allied to Eldoret North MP William Ruto announced that they would expect to get nominees too.

Gichohi said: “The parties must submit a record of minutes of their nominations when they return their nominees to Parliament next Friday.”
The public will be allowed to inspect the nominee’s forms at Parliament’s County Hall on May 26.

Thereafter the names will be forwarded to the departmental Committee on Defence and Foreign Relations for vetting on May 30.

The whole House will approve the names a day after the parliamentary committee completes the vetting process.

Gichohi said any candidate whose nomination papers did not indicate the party from which they sought nomination shall be disqualified.

Last Friday, the National Assembly invited applications from interested persons for the positions of Member of EALA to replace MPs whose term will expire on June 4.

In a notice appearing in Friday’s edition of the Kenya Gazette, National Assembly Clerk Patrick Gichohi said the EAC Election of Members of the Assembly Rules, adopted by Kenyan MPs, required him as the Returning Officer to issue the notice within a period of seven days, to facilitate for nomination by parliamentary political parties.

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In the rules a person shall be qualified to be elected a Member of the Assembly if the person is a citizen of a Partner State and if he has proven experience in furthering the aims and objectives of the Community.

Persons currently serving as Ministers or as officers in the Service of the Community are barred from contesting.

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