NICHOLAS NTHENGE | PMPS. Prime Minister Raila Odinga (left) chairs the ODM party Election Board meeting at Orange House January 13, 2011.
By CAROLINE WAFULA cwafula@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Monday, October 10 2011 at 16:07
Posted Monday, October 10 2011 at 16:07
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) aspiring candidates for the Kitutu Masaba parliamentary seat in the forthcoming by-election and 11 vacant civic wards will only be cleared to contest if they produce a tax clearance certificate and a clearance from the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) among other documents.
And in keeping with the spirit of the new Constitution, ODM has asked its candidates aspiring to contest on the party ticket to also ensure they acquire clearance from the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) and a Certificate of Good conduct to be eligible for the by-elections due on November 28 to qualify.
The documents are a requirement under Chapter 6 of the Constitution on Leadership and Integrity.
This condition has already been implemented by interviewing bodies with the latest being the selection panel set up to establish the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
A candidate, Mr Isaac Mutoka Shivachi who is a lawyer by profession was disqualified after it was discovered that he had failed to repay his HELB debt dating back to the early 1980s.
Employers including the Government are on the lookout for tax defaulters through enforcement of a requirement for clearance by KACC, KRA, HELB, the National Security Intelligence Service and the Law Society of Kenya for lawyers.
The Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) released a circular to all parties on September 30 advising on the elections.
The commission said parties should conduct formal nominations on November 2 and 3 when candidates who will have been nominated will present their papers.
Secretary to the party’s National Elections Board Dr James Misoi also reminded aspirants for the Kitutu Masaba parliamentary seat that they will be required to part with a fee of Sh100,000 for men and Sh75,000 for women, the youth and the physically challenged.
Civic ward candidates will pay a fee of Sh10,000 for men and Sh7,500 for women, youth and the disabled.
“We are urging all our candidates to take note of Chapter 6 of the Constitution on Leadership and Integrity, which requires candidates to acquire specific documents and IIEC will be keenly implementing this,” said Dr Misoi.
“We are in a different constitutional dispensation and as a party, we have been complying and candidates will be vetted and only cleared to stand on the party ticket if they meet the requirements,” he stated.
ODM candidates have been advised to ensure application forms reach the party headquarters by Wednesday for vetting and clearance ahead of the nominations next week on Monday.
At the same time, Dr Misoi said the party will be announcing the long awaited elections 'in the next few weeks.’
He said the party intends to hold the elections by December.
“We intend to do so despite the problems we have faced but the party must survive,” he stated.
He said political parties are institutions of governance which should be taken seriously in accordance with the law, citing the Elections Law which is yet to be enforced.
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