The indipendent candidates vying for various seats in upcoming general elections have challenged the directive where they are required to show the copy of their supporters Identification cards.
The candidates through lawyer Danstan Omari argued that IEBC and the Registrar of Political Parties have been discriminating unconstitutional constraints on independent candidates.
They want the court to issue orders allowing them to form coalitions and associations like other political parties.
The candidates who are Under the name Free Kenya movement, include Bob Njagi, Nicholas Oyoo, Nulalia Okumu, Felix Wambua, and James Kamau want the court to suspend that requirement.
Regulation 24 (2) (c), 28 (2) (c), 32 (2) (c) and 36 (2) (c) of the Elections General Regulations require Independent Candidates to submit forms set out in the schedule of the regulations together with identity cards of their supporters.
On the issue of submitting copies of supporter’s IDs, the candidates say it’s discriminatory because political parties are only required to submit a membership list that has been certified by the Registrar of Political Parties.
Omari argued that the commission has placed a heavier burden on independent candidates to get the signatures of their supporters together with their identification documents.
“These regulations clearly place a heavier burden on independent candidates as opposed to political party candidates which will eventually lock out independent candidates thus denying them an opportunity to exercise their civil and or political rights,” he said.
