The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has issued new directives for Independent candidates in the August poll to obtain clearance certificates by May 2, 2022.
Through a statement issued on Tuesday, IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati stated that candidates who will be contesting independently are required to present a clearance certificate from the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP) as proof that they are not members of any political party.
Further, the IEBC boss said that the candidates will be required to present the symbols they intend to use as the names and the symbols will be published by the commission in the Kenya Gazette by May 13, 2022.
“The commission shall reject the candidature of any Independent candidate for any elective post if the candidate is not qualified or eligible for election under the constitution, the election s Act 2011, or any other written law,” said Chebukati.
Political parties are also required to present a membership list certified by the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties by Saturday, April 9, 2022, whereas the parties are also subjected to submitting names of aspirants, dates and venues of the nominations by the same day, as nomination and inter-party disputes are to be resolved by April 22, 2022.
Further presidential candidates vying via party tickets are to return their duly filled statutory forms to the commission by May 23, 2022, with IEBC now promising to uphold an integral electoral code of conduct in the elections.
Earlier on Monday during the ODPP compendium on Electoral Justice, Chebukati stated that IEBC’s code of conduct committee has already delivered on its constitutional mandate to safeguard the electoral process and will up to the task in the upcoming elections.
“We had a total of 71 cases under the code of conduct committee and we shall not,we shall ensure that we shall deal firmly with individuals who breach the code of conduct and ensure that the law is followed,” said Chebukati.
