The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has warned that the Party Lists, which detail the candidates nominated by political parties, are closed and cannot be changed.
This comes in response to requests from some political parties to replace the names of their nominated politicians on the National Assembly party list due to internal wrangling.
In a statement issued on Thursday, IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati stated that the party lists are still closed and cannot be changed without a court order.
“We wish to inform the public that, in accordance with the Constitution and the Elections Act, the party list remains a closed list as of the date of the General Election and for the term of Parliament or County Assembly, as the case may be, for which the candidates are elected, and cannot be changed unless through a court order,” Chebukati said.
Last week, the High Court ordered the IEBC to publish the name of Mombasa businessman Abubakar Talib as the Wiper nominated MP.
Talib had been ranked first on the party list, but the party led by Kalonzo Musyoka changed the order and replaced his name.
The businessman then went to court to challenge the decision of the Parties Disputes Tribunal, and Justice Joseph Sergon ruled in his favor.
The court ruled that the National Assembly party list submitted to and received by IEBC on July 21 from Wiper, which included Talib’s name as a nominee for the National Assembly, was legal and valid.
