Jubilee Party crafts rules for foolproof primaries

FORD People Secretary General and member of the merger process steering committee Albert Nyaundi. He said the search for structures to ensure foolproof primaries for the proposed party was one of the sticking points. (PHOTO: JENIPHER WACHIE/ STANDARD)

The proposed Jubilee Party is crafting rules that will ensure fair nominations in counties.

A member of the merger process steering committee Albert Nyaundi said the search for structures to ensure foolproof primaries for the proposed party was one of the sticking points.

“Members of all Jubilee affiliates are eager for the dissolution but they want to be sure of their place in the merged party,” Mr Nyaundi said at a harambee at Gikumene in Meru town.

Nyaundi is the leader of Ford-People, one of the parties that have committed to dissolve to form the Jubilee Party. He was representing merger co-chair Dr Noah Wekesa at a harambee for Ntakira Community Water Project.

Nyaundi who is also the chairman of the merger’s sectoral committee on Security and Youth said the party rules being discussed propose to devolve the organising and holding of nominations to the County Elections Boards (CEBs) with the National Elections Board (NEB) retaining only powers to ratify the nomination certificates issued to winners.

“We have proposed that once the nominations are held in the counties, the CEB chairman will sign and issue a certificate to the winner who will then bring it to Nairobi for ratification by the NEB chairman,” he said.

But he said the NEB will retain powers to annul primaries where there is convincing reasons to show that the process had been infiltrated by the Opposition with a view of ensuring that Jubilee gets a weak candidate likely to lose in election.

CEBs will be composed by an electoral college comprising all Jubilee aspirants in the each county but Nyaundi said the merger talks were yet to agree on the number of persons to sit in the board.