ODM nominates former Sol Generation singer Crystal Asige for Senate seat

Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party has picked former Sol Generation Artist Crystal Kagehi Asige for the position of Senate.

In a gazette notice by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Wednesday, the ‘Extravaganza’ hit star was listed as a nominee in the persons with disability category.

The  'Ninajijua' hitmaker, who is visually impaired, was nominated by Raila Odinga-led party alongside Nickson Ochieng.

Asige, who hails from Mombasa County, was diagnosed with glaucoma, a condition which led to her losing her sight in her early 20s.

There are 20 nomination slots in the Senate out of which 16 slots are directly set aside for women while four are set aside for youth representatives (male and female) and persons with disability (male and female) respectively.

In the National Assembly, there are 12 nomination slots.

Political parties are also required to submit their nomination lists, which would be used to top up county assembly seats, to achieve the gender equity requirement in the Constitution.

These seats are allocated to Political Parties in proportion to the total number of seats won by candidates to the political party at the General election.

Earlier IEBC had rejected the nomination lists submitted by79 political parties proposing persons for nomination to the Senate, National and County Assemblies.

IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati in a statement on June 15, 2022  said that despite meeting the deadline of submission of the lists which was done towards the end of June 2022, all the 79 parties that submitted party nomination lists did not meet the constitutional threshold to represent special interests, the youth and Persons with Disability.

The parties were forced to submit new lists which were gazetted by the electoral commission on Wednesday, July 27, 2022.