Presidential and gubernatorial aspirants in the upcoming August general elections have until Thursday to name their running mates as the deadline still stands.
“It is our considered view that by the time the party nomination window closes, presidential candidates should have nominated their running mates. and thereby the commission further stated that the requirement that presidential and gubernatorial candidates submit names of their running mates by 28th April 2022 falls within the commission’s mandate,” said Chebukati.
He noted that there will be no separate nomination process for the deputy president because the presidential candidate and his running mate are a conjoined ticket and process.
The deadline is likely to jolt both the Azimio One Kenya and the Kenya Kwanza brigades who are still puzzled about who to settle on as the Deputy President amid the ongoing pressures and ultimatums from potential politicians and different communities.
In a statement to political parties, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chair Wafula Chebukati said that article 148 of the constitution states that each candidate in a presidential election shall nominate a person who is qualified for nomination for election as president, as a candidate for deputy president.
The Azimio team had earlier protested the deadline but organized a meeting with the IEBC chair on Monday to lobby for the deadline extension, but they failed to reach a consensus.
For one to be a president in the country, the constitution requires one to be a Kenyan Citizen, able to run for a member of parliament, be nominated by a political party, and be nominated by not fewer than 2000 voters from each of the majority counties.