NAIROBI, Kenya Dec 13 – Only 72 political parties will participate in next year’s General Election, according to the electoral commission that locked out 10 for non-compliance.
The Chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati said those cleared had complied with all the requirements of the las as outlined in the Elections Act.
“Only 72 were found to be compliant & will be issued with Compliance Certificates as guided by provisions of Section 27 of the Elections Act,” he said Monday during a meeting with stakeholders organosed through the Political Parties Liaison Committee.
The commission had asked 82 parties which submitted applications to re-submit their documents after failing to meet the threshold but only 72 qualified.
Chebukati did not reveal names of the compliant and non-compliant parties, leaving many guessing.
An official at the IEBC told Capital FM News that the commission will write directly to the parties on the verdict.
“Unless they review their nomination rules, they will not be allowed to participate in the 2022 polls,” Chebukati stated.
While giving the guidelines, the IEBC chairman said the nomination rules must strictly comply with the Constitution, the Elections Act, the Political Parties Act, the Elections (Party Primaries and Party List) Regulations, 2017, and be in accordance with the Party’s Constitution.
IEBC had given political parties until November 16 to refile revised nomination rules as required under Section 27 (1) of the Elections Act.
All the political parties which submitted their nomination rules by October 18 were found to be noncompliant with the requirements of the law. IEBC had warned that it will reject any rules that do not comply with the two-thirds gender rule.
“Non-compliant rules will be declared null and void. The affected political parties will not be issued with a compliance certificate, therefore will not take part in the upcoming General Election,” Chebukati stated.
The commission maintained that the requirement emanates from a High Court ruling that directed the agency to devise administrative mechanisms to ensure gender parity is realized among parties during nominations for parliamentary elections.
