- Section 13 of the Elections Act 2011 gives political parties the window to nominate candidates.
- The candidates will submit their nomination papers to the IEBC between May 29 and 31.
Image: ANDREW KASUKU
Kenya Kwanza running mate Rigathi Gachagua would have to resign as Mathira MP candidate for Deputy President William Ruto's UDA party to pick his replacement.
The political parties act allows a political party to substitute the name of parliamentary candidate who resigns after the particulars have been submitted to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
A political party can also change the name of a candidate after the names have been received by the IEBC in case of death or incapacity.
It can also happen if the candidate nominated contravenes the code of conduct and is found guilty after going through the due process.
According to section 13 of the Elections Act 2011, the replacement can only be done before the candidates formally present their papers to the IEBC.
Section 13(2) reads: “ A political party shall not change the candidate nominated after the nomination of that person has been received by the Commission: Provided that in the event of the death, resignation or incapacity of the nominated candidate or if the violation of the electoral code of conduct by the nominated candidate, the political party may after notifying the candidate that the party seeks to substitute, where applicable, substitute its candidate before the date of presentation of nomination papers to the commission.”
This provision gives UDA a window to nominate another candidate to run in Mathira provided that is done before the official date for candidates to submit their papers to the electoral commission.
According to the gazetted timelines by the IEBC in January, parties had until April 29 to present candidates' names to the IEBC.
However, the commission later extended the period to May 12 to allow parties to comply with the gender principle.
Nominated candidates for parliamentary seats will submit their papers to IEBC constituency returning officers for clearance between May 29 and May 31.
Gachagua was on Sunday picked by Ruto as his running mate for the August 9 general election, sparking speculations that UDA might miss out on nominating his successor.
Before his nomination, Rigathi was the UDA candidate for the Mathira parliamentary seat.
The party's top organ is on Monday expected to make a decision on which mode of nomination they will use to pick the new candidate.
The party can only use direct nomination since the window for primaries closed on April 22.