Political temperatures rise as IEBC announces date for Kibra by-elections

With over 20 ODM Party aspirants from Kibra constituency having already expressed interest in the seat that was left vacant following Ken Okoth’s death, political temperatures are already rising with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) having gazetted November 7, 2019 as the day when the Kibra Parliamentary by-election will be held.

In a gazette notice dated August 16, IEBC said each political party intending to participate in the Kibra by-election has until August 26, 2019 to submit names of candidates set to take part in the nominations.

The nominations, according to IEBC, will be held on September 9 and 10.

The campaigning period for the November 7 Kibra by-election will commence  on Monday, September 9 and cease on  November 4 — 48 hours before the polls.

“Campaign time shall run from 7 am to 6 pm during the campaign period,” said IEBC.

The aspirants on Sunday convened a meeting at Kamukunji grounds in Kibra to chart a way forward on how to win the seat amid speculation that the ODM party could impose a candidate on the electorates.

The group has vowed to reject any such attempt by the ODM Party, insisting that the preferred candidate should be a resident of Kibra constituency.

The ODM party National Executive Council (NEC) is expected to convene a meeting next week to come up with a strategy on how the party candidate will be picked.