Get ready, the race for Embakasi South and Ugenya parliamentary seats has officially started after the electoral commission announced April 5 as the day for by-elections.
Political parties with more than one contestant have 10 days to forward the names of those participating in party primaries.
“Each political party intending to participate in the by-elections shall submit the names of the persons contesting in party primary and the date of the party primary on or before January 21,” Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Wafula Chebukati said.
Public officers intending to contest are expected to resign from their positions by Monday (January 14), since the National Assembly Speaker Justice Muturi declared the seats vacant on January 7.
However, a candidate set to participate in the by-election on an independent ticket is expected to submit his name and her party symbol for purposes of nomination to the commission by Monday.
The seats fell vacant after former Ugenya MP Christopher Karan and his Embakasi South counterpart Julius Mawathe were declared by the Supreme Court not to have been legally elected.
In the scheduled published by Chebukati in the Gazette notice yesterday, the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal, chaired by Kyalo Mbobu, is expected to hear and determine matters arising from the party primaries by February 15.He said campaign period for the by-election is to commence on February 4 to April 2 and be conducted between 7am to 6pm.
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) yesterday said it will not hold fresh nominations for the Ugenya by-election.
“We will follow precedent set by the Supreme Court that cleared the air on the grey area that going back to the polls does not mean holding fresh nominations,” ODM Secretary General Edwin Sifuna said.