The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has reversed course and acquiesced to political parties’ demand for a longer nomination period by gazetting the poll date two months earlier.
Instead of March 14, 2022, the commission will gazette the election date on January 19, 2022.
That will give political outfits 129 days to conduct primaries, resolve intra-party disputes and submit the names of their candidates to IEBC.
In the original plan, political parties were to conduct nominations, resolve intra- party disputes and submit names of candidates to the commission in just 34 days.
“This is to show political parties that where there is discretion, the commission is ready to cede ground as long as it does not affect the overall election operational programme,” IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati said during a meeting of the commission and the Political Parties Liasion Committee (PPLC).
According to the original plan, which is captured in the commission’s 2022 election operational scheme, the IEBC was to gazette the General Election date on March 14.
This means political parties would conducted their primaries from April 16 to May 19, 2022.
IEBC yesterday argued that gazetting the date early would help improve democracy in political parties and the country.
The communication on the new timelines was made at the request of Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Secretary General Edwin Sifuna on Thursday.
Mr Chebukati said his commission would continue working with the PPLC to ensure Parliament passes proposed legal reforms.
The IEBC chairman said the commission is ready to comply with the High Court order requiring it to develop administrative mechanisms to ensure the two thirds gender rule is implemented.
“The IEBC shall ensure nomination lists of political parties for National Assembly and Senate positions comply with the rule before they are accepted,” he said.
Mr Chebukati urged relevant government agencies to address insecurity as the General Election approaches.
On mass voter registration that begins on Monday, the IEBC chairman said the target is six million.
“I invite political parties to work with the commission during the voter registration by mobilising Kenyans at the grassroots,” he said.
“Political parties have established offices in counties. Effective mobilisation machinery and your support will help bring Kenyans to register.”
The electoral commission has been registering new voters continuously since 2018 though that has been confined to the 290 IEBC constituency offices, a situation Mr Chebukati attributes to funding limits.
The commission has been given Sh26.5 million for its activities, one of which is voter registration.
The voter registration will be in the 1,450 wards across the country.
Other than registering new voters, commission clerks will also get information from those planning to change their details or Kenyans who want to shift to other polling centres.
There were 13,000 incidents of double or multiple registration during the last mass campaign in 2016.
“We have given the suspended voters an amnesty. They will be registered if they come,” IEBC Director of Voter Registration and Electoral Operations, Rasi Masudi, told reporters.
There were 19.6 million registered voters for the 2017 General Election but 67,462 have been added to the roll since October 2018, according to the electoral agency.
