IEBC Chairperson, Vice Chairperson and CEO/COURTESY
NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 25 – The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) says it will abide by the High Court ruling extending the nomination deadline for the ongoing political party primaries.
In a statement, Chairman Wafula Chebukati stated that the Commission will however appear before the concerned judge Tuesday to raise its concerns about the order.
“The Commission will appear before the judge tomorrow (Tuesday) to raise its concerns about ex-parte orders which are final in nature but as a law abiding institution, the Commission will obey the order,” he said.
Chebukati indicated that the order has reduced the period available for resolution of disputes arising from party primaries at the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal.
“Nonetheless, we expect political parties to submit their candidates’ names on or before 10th May, 2017 while independent candidates should submit their symbols and the notice of intention to vie as an independent candidate on or before 8th May, 2017,” he said.
Chebukati also says that the order does not affect any of the other timelines.
“All the timelines in the notices have not been affected by the court order. The effect of the court order is to reduce the period available for resolution of disputes arising from party primaries at the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal.
The High Court in Malindi ordered that the nomination deadline for the ongoing political party primaries be extended by five days from Wednesday this week to Monday next week.
The directions were given by Justice Weldon Korir Monday after certifying an application by a Non-Governmental Organisation as urgent.
READ: High court extends period for party primaries by a week
In the suit, the Angaza Empowerment Network contends that the Constitution sets aside May 7 as the deadline and not April 26 as directed by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
The organisation through George Miringu argued that the electoral body violated the law since this will deprive political parties 10 days within which they should conduct the exercise.
Miringu further explained that the extension will ensure that all Kenyans exercise their democratic right to choose leaders.
He indicated that the nominations exercise is a very critical part of the electoral process and must be subjected to the same standards.
IEBC had earlier maintained that it will not extend the deadline for parties to conduct nominations across the country.
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