Tuesday, February 19, 2013

56 to vie for positions as independent candidates


The former Nyeri Town MP Mr Wanyiri Kihoro said few people knew that he had refused to join any party and chosen to seek election as an independent candidate. The electoral commission has cleared fifty-six individuals to compete in the General Election for various seats as independent candidate. FILE/NATION
By NATION REPORTER  ( email the author)

Posted  Monday, February 18  2013 at  20:29
In Summary
  • Article 85 of the Constitution requires that any person willing to stand as an independent candidate should not be a member of a party.
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Fifty-six individuals will compete in the General Election for various seats as independent candidates, a list published by the electoral commission shows.
They are vying for the posts of governor, senator, women representative and MP.
But as they take their place in Kenya’s history as the first partyless candidates in a General Election, they face the uphill task of dealing with voters’ perceptions and competing against their better-placed counterparts.
In Nairobi, for example, few people knew that Mr Wanyiri Kihoro was a governor candidate before his appearance on NTV and the Kenya Broadcasting Corporation in debates on Sunday evening.
Mr Kihoro said few people knew that he had refused to join any party and chosen to seek election as an independent candidate.
Financial support
The former Nyeri Town MP said most of the voters he meets do not understand the concept of an independent candidate.
“Even when you tell them that you are an independent candidate they will even ask you what party you belong to. What is your party? And you have to go over it again,” he said.
They also don’t enjoy the advantage of having a “bigger” candidate, whose momentum can assist them get votes.
They also lack the little financial support they would get from a party.
Mr Kihoro also shares the fate of candidates whose parties did not hold primaries and were therefore not known much as their names were nowhere in the press.
Recruit members
He said he decided to go independent because he was tired of party politics and disapproved of the methods they used to recruit members.
Article 85 of the Constitution requires that any person willing to stand as an independent candidate should not be a member of a party.
The requirement for a political party to have 1,000 members in at least 24 counties before registration has put off those who would have liked to form their own outfits because of the cost of registration.
Centre for Multi-Party Democracy executive director Njeri Kabeberi said independent candidates are unlikely to survive the current political environment.
She said going independent in a country with many parties to choose from is unnecessary and unlikely to work in the long term.

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