NAIROBI, Kenya, May 23 – The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has directed all presidential aspirants to present 2,000 signatures from at least 24 counties as a pre-nomination requirement by close of business on Monday.
The electoral commission’s chairman Wafula Chebukati stated that this will enable the poll body to commence the verification exercise before the August 9 elections.
“By the end of today all candidates should have submitted the signatures supporting their candidacy,” Chebukati stated.
The IEBC Chair made the announcement in a meeting attended by representatives for the different presidential aspirants.
Azimio coalition presidential flag bearer Raila Odinga was represented by lawyer Paul Mwangi.
Deputy President William Ruto on the other end was represented by the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party secretary general Veronica Maina.
Also present was Wiper Party presidential candidate Kalonzo Musyoka’s running mate Andrew Sunkuli and secretary general Shakila Abdalla.
Even as the pre-nomination exercise is set to commence, independent aspirants have raised concerns on new conditions requiring them to collect signatures and copies of national identity cards of their supporters.
They argue that the requirement doesn’t give them a level playing field as compared to their counterparts.
“We will do a comparison of the ID copy and name of the person signing for an aspirant. Where there shall be a shortfall of signatures, after IEBC verification, the commission will give more time to get the required signatures,” Chebukati said.
Further, the commission has directed presidential aspirants with foreign degrees to first obtain certification from the commission of university education as a nomination requirement.
