IIEC steps in between Raila and Ruto

By Alex Ndegwa and Evelyn Kwamboka

Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s attempt to replace ODM nominated councillors allied to Eldoret North MP William Ruto has hit a snag.

Interim Independent Electoral Commission recalled a list of 34 ODM nominees, mainly from the North Rift, it had forwarded to Deputy Prime Minister and Local Government minister, Musalia Mudavadi, for appointment.

Chairman Ahmed Issack Hassan advised Mudavadi to ignore IIEC letter dated June 30, that detailed names of civic leaders whose nomination ODM proposes to revoke, and those listed for replacement.

This came as a group led by Ruto and his Dujis counterpart Aden Dualle moved to court to try and stop ODM from dismissing the councillors.

They argued the councillors met the legal requirements to hold the positions, and they have not lost their ‘capacities’ to warrant dismissal.

Lady Justice Jeanne Gacheche certified the case as urgent, and ordered all parties sued to be served with the case papers. She directed the matter to be heard inter-partes on July 12.

Those sued are the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC), Local Government Minister Musalia Mudavadi and Attorney General Amos Wako.

From letters seen by The Standard, it emerged the Registrar of Political Parties discovered some nominees forwarded to replace the nominated civic leaders by ODM were not members of the party.

Acting on the advice of the Registrar, IIEC decided to recall the names and take them back to ODM for correction. "IIEC received a letter from ODM with 50 names that the party wanted degazetted and 50 replacements, but the irregularities were noted after the commission asked for identification of the nominees," said a source at IIEC.

Drumming up support

Nine of 13 civic authorities ODM intends to shake up are in Rift Valley — considered to be Ruto’s power base — heightening speculation the party is cracking down on dissent in the region. Ruto himself has made it clear he is on his way out of ODM and so, too, are several Rift Valley MPs who are drumming up support for UDM.