IEBC Denies Azimio la Umoja request to extend time for picking a running mate

By Judy Jerono Azimio la Umoja’s Party leader Raila Odinga has been denied his request to extend the deadline for choosing a running mate. In its letter to Azimio la Umoja one Kenya, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) maintained that it was electoral body’s responsibility to set timelines for the August 9 general elections insisting that presidential candidates have to submit the names of their running mates by Thursday, April 28, which is the set deadline. "It must be appreciated that election is a process and not an event as was elaborated by the Supreme Court at paragraph 224 of its judgment in Raila Amolo Odinga & another vs Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission & 4 others & Attorney General & another. Pursuant to the foregoing, it is worth noting that nomination forms an integral part of the election process," read Chebukati's letter to Raila in part. Chebukati further enlightened that the nominations of a running mate be separated from the nomination of presidential candidates by political parties. "If a person is nominated as a candidate for Deputy President outside party primaries having not gone through the nomination process with the presidential candidate, that person does not qualify to be nominated as a candidate for Deputy President for non-compliance with Article 99(1)(c) and Article 137(1)(c). "The nomination of a candidate for President and Deputy President is conjoined and the process respecting the nomination of the two cannot be divorced from each other," IEBC explained. However, the electoral body noted that there were concerns over the timelines, further convening a meeting with interested political parties today (April 25) to deliberate on the matter. Those who have been endorsed for the running mate seat include; Narc Kenya leader, Martha Karua, Agriculture Cabinet Secretary, Peter Munya,  former Gatanga MP, Peter Kenneth and Wiper leader, Kalonzo Musyoka.