On Tuesday, Jubilee candidate in Kibra by-elections, Macdonald Mariga, was disqualified from contesting by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
The reason attributed to his disqualification was that his name could not be found in the 2017 voters’ register.
Already, the International footballer has assured his supporters that he will fight for his rights and is set to head to the IEBC Disputes Resolutions Tribunal, to appeal the decision, insisting that he is registered voter.
“You have walked with me and we will continue with the election. I must have my right to run for MP since I’m a registered voter,” Mariga assured his supporters
Despite this, Mariga could still vie. It will just depend on the date he registered as a voter.
According to the Elections Act number 36 of 2016, states that the registration of voters and revision of the register should be carried out at all times until a period of sixty days to the general or by-elections.
Unverified reports claim that the international footballer was registered as a voter in early June 2019 with IEBC records indicating that Mariga applied for registration on August 26 after the vacancy was declared on August 14.
National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi issued writs in a special Gazette notice of August 14, officially declaring the seat vacant.
If the initial claims are anything to go by, then Mariga could still stand a chance to vie since his period of registration will fall within the required 2 months time.
In 2007 and 2013, ODM party leader Raila Odinga was faced with the same problem as Mariga’s. His name was missing from the voters’ list.
The then elections body, ECK, could not explain why the name of an influential leader like Odinga could miss from the list despite registering.
It was alleged that people whose names start with letters A, O, R and W could not vote because their names were conspicuously missing from Lang’ata constituency registers.
Incidentally, the bearers of names with these initials hailed from communities where the ODM presidential candidate enjoyed a large following.
This was viewed as a tactical move by the then Kibaki’s regime to lock out Odinga’s followers from voting.
Interestingly, after engaging the electoral body for some hours, the ECK was forced to allow him to vote together with some of his then Kibera residents whose names were also missing.
Raila’s name was missing again in 2013. Despite this, he was later allowed to vote.
The same scenario was witnessed during the recent ODM primaries in Kibra. There were complaints of missing names, and in areas where the names were available, the ID numbers were wrong.
The process at most of the polling stations in the constituency was delayed as members complained about bias and faulty lists. Some were later allowed to vote despite the hitch.
“So long as a Kenyan is qualified to vote or vie and has made that application to IEBC, the IEBC can take their time. Can take one week, one year or 10 years but that person cannot be denied his rights to vote or vie,” stated Lang’ata MP Nixon Korir.
Korir, together with former Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale were trying to convince the IEBC commissioner to take her time and relook for Mariga’s name in the register.
Mariga has seven days to appeal the decision to block him.