By Cyrus Kimanga
Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka could be cleared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to contest for the presidency unless someone petitions the agency against his candidature or there is a court order to stop him.
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) intends to stick to what is provided in Section 23 of the Elections Act.
The section gives a checklist of things a person intending to contest for presidency needs to have. The requirements are that a person must be a Kenyan citizen by birth and not hold citizenship of any other country, be qualified to stand for election as an MP, is a registered voter, is a member of a registered party for political party candidates or registered as an independent, must have been nominated by the political party and the certificate signed by authorized signatories, must be supported by at least 2,000 registered voters each from at least half of the counties, must not have been declared bankrupt and must not have been sentenced to a prison term of at least six months at the time of registration as a candidate. The candidate should also have a proposer and a seconder.
According to the provision of this Act, Kalonzo has qualified to be cleared by the electoral commission in a bid to hit the campaign rail in search of a State House post.
“If a candidate satisfies what is provided in the checklist, then he is cleared. If any of the items on the checklist is missing, that attracts a disqualification,” said IEBC CEO Hussein Marjan.
However, if someone challenges Mr. Musyoka’s candidature after the clearance, the commission will establish the IEBC Disputes Resolution Committee to look into the matter. In which case, Kalonzo would be at the disadvantageous side
