President Uhuru Kenyatta and DP William Ruto expected to resolve Jubilee nomination row

Majority Leader Aden Duale

President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto will meet  this week to give guidance on Jubilee Party nominations.

According to Majority Leader Aden Duale, the meeting has been necessitated by an outcry from party aspirants opposed to Jubilee using smart cards in the nominations.

"The President is meeting the team to iron out a few emerging issues on nomination," he said.

Uhuru and Ruto are expected to meet National Elections Board (NEB) under the chairmanship of lawyer Lumatete Walubengo to determine how the nominations, slated for between April 13 and 26, will be conducted.

Mr Dulae announced that the party is considering adopting two methods in the nomination process.

"We will use the names of our supporters in the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) register and in some areas, we will use the smart card," he said.

Duale's statement is likely to outrage party leaders and members in various parts of the country who are opposed to using the smart cards, saying it would disenfranchise many members.

Nairobi Senator Mike Mbuvi Sonko has publicly declared that he will not use the cards because some tycoons had purchased them in bulk and distributed them to their supporters to the disadvantage of poorer aspirants.

The meeting comes after JP head of secretariat Raphael Tuju recently announced that the party had shelved plans to use the much-touted smart card in its party primaries.

The Sh20-JP smart card was launched with fanfare by Uhuru in January. Although it minted millions of shillings from sales, some aspirants were opposed to it, saying their opponents plan to use them to rig the nominations.

Tuju clarified that the party will instead use national identity cards, pointing out that the use of the smart cards, was only meant for party membership recruitment and not necessarily for nominations.

Jubilee's vice chairman David Murathe said the main objective was to have as many card-carrying members of the party as possible.

"When you to the polling centre, you will find an IEBC and a Jubilee register. You must be on the party register, then you must counter check with the IEBC register to confirm if you are listed in that particular centre for you to be allowed to participate in the nominations," Mr Murathe said.

Murathe warned people said to be hoarding the cards that they risked being locked out of the nominations.

 

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Jubilee