Court extends party nomination deadline to 1st May

The High Court in Malindi has extended the deadline for party nominations from Thursday, April 27, 2017 to Monday, May 1, 2017 following a petition by a non-governmental organization.

The lobby group, Angaza Empowerment Network, through the law firm Mbugua, Atudo and Macharia advocates, filed the petition before Justice Weldon Korir who certified the application as urgent.

In an affidavit filed in a Malindi court, the organization’s director, George Miringu, said that while IEBC has the power to prescribe regulations and guidelines, it cannot override express provisions of an Act of Parliament.

According to the Article 83 (3) of the Constitution of Kenya 2010: “Administration arrangements for the registration of voters and the conduct of elections shall be designed to facilitate, and shall not deny, an eligible citizen the right to vote or stand for election”.

In his affidavit, Mr Miringu stated that according to the constitution, party nominations are to be conducted at least 90 days to the election, putting the date of the deadline at May 7, 2017.

He further states that according to the Elections Act Section 13 (2A), intraparty dispute resolution should be done by 6^th June 2017 and the submission of the roll of the successful candidates by the party by 7^th June 2017.

“The reduction of the statutory period granted to political parties to plan and conduct party nominations by a whooping ten days is a violation and limitation of the provision of Article 83 (3) of the Constitution that is neither reasonable nor justifiable,” he said.