•The law requires the commission to suspend an election in the event a candidate dies after he/she has been cleared.
•Abdalla Kweyu, Mumias North MCA candidate, died after he was involved in a road accident.
Image: IEBC /TWITTER
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Sunday postponed MCA elections in five different wards across the country following the death of duly cleared candidates.
The law requires the commission to suspend an election in the event a candidate dies after he/she has been cleared.
The five wards include South Gem Ward in Siaya County, Kyome/Thaana in Kitui County, Oloimasani Ward in Narok County, Mumias North in Kakamega and Utawala Ward in Nairobi County.
"IEBC suspends the election in the four wards owing to the death of candidates listed, and we shall communicate vide a Gazette Notice when the said elections will be conducted," read part of a Gazette Notice dated July 26.
Abdalla Kweyu, Mumias North MCA candidate, died after he was involved in a road accident.
Orange Democratic Movement received a blow just a month before the General Election as Nick Otieno Wanga died while receiving treatment at a Kisumu Hospital. He was vying for the MCA seat in South Gem Siaya County
Utawala Ward in Embakasi East also lost a candidate, Michael Mwathi Gitonga. The electorates will have to wait longer before they can vote in their representative.
Stanley Ngui Muthengi of Thaana in Kitui county died in a fatal car accident.
Marcelly Kitonui Kirui of Oloimasani ward in Narok County also died after being cleared to contest.
Following this, electorates in the affected wards will be allowed to vote for the five elective positions except that of the Member of the County Assembly.
Other reasons that may cause the postponement of elections may include, court decisions coming late drastically which may affect the timelines of the electoral management body, which may have little or no option but to push forward the voting.
“When it becomes impossible for us to perform our functions, we postpone the election for that specific area,” Chebukati told journalists on July 18.