Party nomination process officially closed, IEBC says

IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati at the National Tallying Centre on August 8, 2022. [Jonah Onyango, Standard]

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has said the process of nominating persons to the National Assembly, Senate and County Assemblies has been closed.

In a statement on Thursday, September 15, the electoral agency defended the criteria it used to pick nominees to the respective assemblies.

"The formula for allocation of seats to the respective political parties from the party lists shall be the number of seats won by a political party divided by the total number of seats multiplied by available seats for allocation in the respective house," IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati said in the press statement.

That process, he said, was completed in September 2022.

"The commission completed the process and published the nominated persons to the Senate and County Assemblies on September 9, 2022 and the list of persons nominated to the 47 County Assemblies on September 9, 2022 vide a special issue of the Kenya Gazette No. 10537 Vol. 181 and No. 10712 Vol. CXXIV - No. 186 respectively."

The IEBC said the gazetted list was not subject to change.

"We wish to inform the public that as per the Constitution and the Elections Act, the party list remains a closed list as at the date of General Election and for the term of Parliament or County Assembly, as the case may be, for which the candidates are elected and cannot be changed unless through an order of the court," said Chebukati.

The commission said the list submitted by political parties must meet gender equity and regional balance qualifications.