The electoral agency has announced key timelines that candidates and political parties must adhere to ahead of the August 9 polls.
In the newly released dates, political parties are required to submit a certified member list to the offices of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) by Saturday, April 9.
The list must be certified by the Office of Registrar of Political Parties (ORPP). ORPP had indicated there are over 24 million Kenyans registered as political party members, about 1.5 million more than the 22.15 million registered voters.
Party nominations
Parties are also required to submit the names of aspirants, venue and the dates of primaries by Saturday, April 9.
Some parties, like Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM), have already begun their nominations. All parties must finish their primaries by April 22.
In a statement, IEBC also warned parties against nominating candidates who are not qualified.
“The commission shall reject the candidature of any person nominated by a political party for any elective position if that candidate is not qualified or eligible for election under the Constitution, the Elections Act 2011 and or any other written law,” it said.
A nomination certificate with alterations can be rejected by the commission.
Independent candidates
Independent candidates who want to participate in the General Election are required to submit a clearance certificate from the ORPP before May 2.
They will also be required to submit the symbols they want to use in the election by the same date.
These details will be published by May 13 in the Kenya Gazette.
Independent candidates will be issued with statutory forms to collect the details of their supporters by the county and constituency offices. These forms will be submitted later to the returning officers together with details of the supporters.
Presidential election
Presidential candidates will collect statutory forms from the commission and submit the details of their supporters on May 23.
The identification details should be of at least 2,000 registered voters in each of at least 24 of Kenya’s 47 counties.
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