Man wants Homa Bay senatorial seat declared vacant before nominations

NAIROBI: A member of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party has moved to court seeking to have the nomination exercise for the Homa Bay senatorial contest stopped until the seat is declared vacant.

Kenneth Ogalo wants this done before the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) can request parties to submit the names of their nominees.

IEBC wants parties to submit their selected nominees by Friday, but Mr Ogalo maintains the exercise should be halted until the seat is declared vacant.

He says the decision by the electoral agency to fix dates for nominations without following due process was unconstitutional, adding that the expectations of the people of Homa Bay County will be violated.

He further argues that the time given to submit nominations and for the exercise itself was too short, and was done without consulting the people.

"Political parties have not been given adequate time to prepare and carry out credible nominations and print ballot papers," Ogalo says in his petition.

He further argues that the conduct by IEBC was unprocedural and inconsistent, and they had failed to hold consultations with parties through the Political Parties Liaison Committee.

The rights of the Homa Bay people, he further states, will be affected as they will now choose their candidate through the delegates system instead of the universal suffrage stipulated in Article 38 of the Constitution.

The Homa Bay senatorial seat was left vacant after the passing of Senator Otieno Kajwang' on November 18.