The Independent Boundaries and Electoral Commission has cleared Boyd Were, son of former Kasipul Member of Parliament, the late Charles Were, and Seth Panyako, Secretary General of the Kenya Union of Nurses (KNUN), to vie for MP positions in the upcoming November 27 by-elections.
In separate events that happened on Wednesday, October 8, Were and Panyako received official clearance from IEBC to vie for the Kasipul and Malava MP seats, respectively, despite previous opposition to their candidacy.
Were who won the Orange Democratic Party (ODM) party primaries will now be on the ballot as he hopes to succeed his father, a victim of a brutal assassination in Nairobi.
On the other hand, Panyako was given a direct ticket by the Democratic Alliance Party-Kenya (DAP-K) to contest for the Malava seat despite being the head of a public body.
News of the two politicians’ IEBC clearance sparked celebration, with their supporters breaking into song and dance. Boyd was accompanied by top ODM officials such as Deputy Party Leader Abdulswamad Sheriff Nassir and National Chairperson Gladys Wanga to pick up his certificate before proceeding to a rally.
Panyako, on the other hand, was accompanied by DAP-K party leader Eugene Wamalwa and Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale to pick up his certificate. Panyako is aiming to replace the late Malulu Injendi, who passed away after a long illness, as Malava MP.
Both candidates had their candidatures face immense resistance. Panyako is facing a petition challenging his candidacy. The petition argued that Panyako failed to resign from his position as Board Member of the Local Authorities Provident Fund (LAPFUND) within the legally required timeline.
The petition, which was lodged on behalf of fellow aspirant Caleb Burudi, sought to bar Panyako from contesting, contending that he was ineligible for party primaries and the election itself. According to the petition, IEBC declared the seat vacant on August 8, meaning Panyako had to have resigned by August 15.
As he sought the court’s intervention, the petitioner argued that Panyako continued serving as a LAPFUND Board Member, even attending a national conference in August and a LAPFUND workshop in September.
For Boyd, his win in the primaries almost never came to fruition after chaos and violence threatened to delay the primaries. Reports emerged that Newton Ogada, a fellow contestant, was planning to disrupt the primaries by hiring goons.
Boyd’s team had alleged that there were plans to sabotage the nominations through violence and intimidation.
Aside from the two positions in the National Assembly, other vacant seats are the Baringo Senatorial position and multiple county assembly ward positions.
