Puff puff? IEBC says pass, as it blocks George Wajackoyah from presidential poll
From left: Presidential candidates Mwangi Wa Iria, Prof George Wajackoyah and Reuben Kigame.
Roots Party presidential candidate Prof George Wajackoyah’s presidential bid yesterday hit a snag after he failed to meet the requirement on signatures from supporters.
The aspirants are required to present 2,000 signatures per county from at least 24 devolved units, but Prof Wajackoyah, who has caused excitement due to his antics and stand on bhang, presented only from 17 counties. However, he had complied with other requirements in the presidential checklist.
“You have complied with all documentations except supporters list. Only 17 counties are compliant. The others have shortfalls. You need a minimum of seven (more) to meet the requirements,” said Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati.
“Therefore, I have to reject your application today and give you an opportunity on June 2 at 3pm to comply,” he added.
Prof Wajackoyah and his running mate Justina Wamae said they will comply with the requirements, exuding confidence they will be on the ballot come August 9.
“We have the data and ours will just be to add on the remaining bit so that we meet the commission’s requirements,” said Ms Wamae.
“When you go to war you go prepared for everything and for us we are going to take it the way it is. We are going to come back as soon as possible. We assure our supporters that we are going to address the shortfalls as we have passed everything except for that one thing which we will address,” said Prof Wajackoyah.
At the same time, Umoja Summit Party leader Walter Mong'are was yesterday cleared by the electoral commission as the first presidential candidate for the August 9 elections in a day filled with drama and allegations of impartiality.
Mr Mong’are alias Nyambane, a comedian who rose to the inner circles of President Uhuru Kenyatta as a youth advisor, and his running mate Rachel Mwakazi got the nod after successfully submitting the requisite documents as per the IEBC checklist.
Mr Chebukati subsequently issued Mr Mong’are with a certificate of nomination as a presidential candidate, giving him the go ahead to begin his presidential campaigns.
“We want to confirm that you have complied with the checklist,” said Mr Chebukati.
For his part, Mr Mong’are said his clearance is the culmination of a three-year journey for his party as they prepare for their first major election.
A victory for us
“This is a testimony that this is a country that works and this is a victory for us and every young man and woman out there. I want to tell them to dream and that dream will bring forth results,” said Mr Mong’are.
The clearance of Mr Mong’are came on a day Murang’a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria, the Usawa Kwa Wote party boss, and gospel musician Reuben Kigame, who wanted to run as an independent candidate, protested their exclusion from the list of those to appear before the commission for clearance.
Mr Wa Iria caused dramatic scenes at Bomas after he failed to make the shortlist of 18 presidential aspirants, while Mr Kigame protested his exclusion saying he had met all the requirements and had the right to be allowed to vie.
Mr Wa Iria blocked the road leading to Bomas of Kenya, the venue of the clearance exercise, for the better part of the day.
The Murang’a governor alleged the existence of a scheme by the IEBC to clear only three presidential candidates to contest in the August General Election.
He, however, vowed to continue camping at the venue until he is slotted for clearance, saying “no election will happen if I do not contest”.
“We are not going to allow a fraudulent electoral process. We are going to do everything possible to make sure that does not happen. The scheme is that they only want three candidates, but I can assure you that no election will happen if I will not contest,” said Mr Wa Iria.
He said that the commission had on May 25 told him he had complied with the requirements after six hours of verification and given a date of June 3 to appear before it for registration, only for his name to miss out from the schedule released on May 29.
The two-term governor said his attempts to get an explanation from Mr Chebukati on the change has proven futile.
“I was to discuss with them but they have locked the gates. I came in on Sunday and stayed till late in the night but Chebukati refused to listen to me. They received my documents and gave me a clean bill of health but now they are telling me they don’t have them,” he said.
Mr Kigame also complained of being dodged by the IEBC officials who denied him a chance to present his complaints.
He claimed that he was only notified on Sunday at 10pm that he had failed to meet the requirements for presidential candidates, with Mr Chebukati writing him an email in the middle of the night without having a sit-down and hearing him out.
Bar certain aspirants
The renowned gospel musician also claimed there is a deliberate plan to bar certain aspirants from vying for the presidency.
“Here is evidence of signatures and ID copies that IEBC refused to take and then charged me with non-compliance. They will not even look at my degrees and other qualifications. Let justice roll down like water and the cry of freedom from discrimination fill the air,” said Mr Kigame.
But in response, Mr Chebukati said the two failed to get over the first hurdle on May 25.
“From our records, Mr Iria presented 24 bundles but in that there were only signatures from 22 counties and upon further verification only documents for five counties passed the test,” he said.
The presidential aspirants’ clearance exercise will take a two-day break until Thursday when Dorothy Kemunto Nyangori, Gibson Nganga and James Kamau, all independent aspirants, will face IEBC.
On Friday, Agano Party leader David Mwaure Waihiga, Jeremiah Nyagah and Jane Juliet Munyeki, both independent aspirants, will have a date with the IEBC officials.
Deputy President and United Democratic Alliance presidential candidate William Ruto, and his Wiper party counterpart Kalonzo Musyoka will have a date with the electoral agency on Saturday, June 4.
Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition presidential aspirant Raila Odinga, Thirdway Alliance’s Dr Ekuru Aukot and independent aspirant George Munyottah will make a date with the IEBC on the penultimate day of the exercise.
The last day will see Safina Party presidential candidate Jimi Wanjigi, Njeru Kathangu of Ford Asili and Muthiora Eliud Kiriara, an independent aspirant, close the registration exercise.
Among the stringent measures set by the IEBC to clear presidential hopefuls include a condition that they file corresponding copies of the identification documents of the voters who have appended their signatures in support of the aspirants’ bids.
Alongside the signatures, aspirants are required to file an electronic list of supporters in an Excel spreadsheet.
