The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has warned Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho against blocking his competitors from erecting billboards.
The Commission, through Mombasa Returning Officer Nancy Kariuki, directed Joho to ensure the opponents are given space to erect their campaign material by Friday 9 am.
Through a letter directed to the Governor, the Returning Officer (RO) warned that the county boss would be held personally liable if the order is not adhered to.
Ms Kariuki directed that if Mombasa county officials fail to approve Senator Hassan Omar, Jubilee's Suleiman Shahbal and Nyali MP Hezron Awiti's boards, Joho would be reported to the IEBC Code of Conduct Enforcement Committee.
“All candidates who have applied and have capacity and willingness to pay for advertising space, should under your executive leadership of Mombasa county government have their requests granted by 9 am, 7th July 2017,” ordered Ms Kariuki.
She noted that it was against the electoral code of conduct for the Governor to prevent companies contracted by competitors to put up billboards from doing so.
The RO advised Joho to adhere to the Code of Conduct that requires candidates to commit and affirm the rights of all participants in an election since he had vowed to abide by it.
However, the ODM deputy leader defended himself claiming that two private companies had been given the mandate to control who erects the boards in the county.
“The governor has absolutely nothing to do with this as it is leased to private companies with directors of which the Governor is not among them. If IEBC feels the firms are breaching a code of conduct they should take appropriate action," he stated through his lawyer.
