The Orange Democratic Movement Youth League has urged the
IEBC to swiftly gazette John Ketora as a nominated MP following the elevation
of John Mbadi as Treasury CS.
Ketora is president of the ODM Youth League.
The youths said the process that had been slowed by the
absence of commissioners should now be prioritised. They issued the statement
during their National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Thursday.
“We begin by expressing our deep appreciation to the party
leadership for the nomination of John Ketora to the National Assembly,” the
statement reads.
“As the current ODM Youth League president, his nomination
is a clear sign that the party believes in the strength, ability, and voice of
young people.”
League’s vice-chairman Martin Muthusi said the new
commission should swiftly gazette Ketora to fill the gap left by Mbadi, who had
served as Suba South MP.
The new IEBC
commissioners were sworn into office last week after courts cleared their
appointments.
“It has been long overdue. The IEBC nomination list has
categories and like Mbadi, Ketora is the second under the worker category in
that list,” Muthusi said.
Before elections, political parties submit their list for
the 12 nomination slots to represent the special interests of youth, persons
with disabilities and workers.
Once the list is submitted to the IEBC, it cannot be altered
until the next election.
Muthusi now wants the electoral agency to gazette Ketora
based on the ODM list.
“The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission should
now gazette Ketora,” the Youth League said.
Mbadi was nominated to the Cabinet, formally vacating his
nominated MP position. He took office on August 24 last year.
Ketora, a vocal youth leader, is seen by many within the
party as a loyal foot soldier who has carried the party’s message at the grassroots
and the national level.
Ketora is expected to bring youthful energy to the National
Assembly and amplify ODM’s voice on issues affecting young people, including
unemployment, affordable education, and digital economy legislation.
Instant analysis
The National Assembly has 12 nomination slots following
every election; political parties share the slots depending on their
parliamentary strengths. The parties are usually required to submit a list of
their nominees under every category — youth, worker, PWDs. The IEBC then uses
the submitted list to nominate, depending on the number of slots the party got.
