The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) was holed up in a crisis meeting for the better part of Wednesday, July 6, in a bid to weigh in on the various options available to them following the nullification of a rule that required presidential candidates to present at least 48,000 signatures and copies of identification cards of supporters for clearance.
Media reports indicated that the IEBC Commissioners convened alongside its legal department to discuss the available options including appealing the decision made by High Court Judge, Anthony Mrima.
The ruling means that the Commission may be compelled to include the likes of Murang'a governor, Mwangi wa Iria, and independent candidate Reuben Kigame on the presidential ballot.
With only 32 days to the August General Election, the Commission discussed key factors such as election preparedness and assessed how the ruling would affect the electioneering period.
Justice Mrima had ruled that the requirement for candidates to present copies of IDs of supporters from at least 24 counties contravenes Article 31 of the Constitution and the Data Protection Act.
"Article 31 guarantees the privacy of all Kenyan citizens and states that they have the right not to have their information relating to them or their family or private affairs unnecessarily revealed.
"The rule also applies to aspirants eyeing the Member of County Assembly (MCA), Member of Parliament (MP), Woman Representative, Senator and Gubernatorial seats," Justice Mrima ruled.
The Judge deemed that the IEBC was already in possession of personal data of all registered voters, including copies and numbers of their IDs or passports and hence should not have compelled the presidential aspirants to produce the same information as a show of proof of their support.
The High Court ruling gave a lifeline to the presidential aspirants locked out of the race due to the stringent requirements put by the IEBC.
The decision was welcomed by Kigame who called for the postponement of the August 9 polls to give more time to the Commission to comply with the court ruling.
He also poked holes at the credibility of IEBC chair, Wafula Chebukati, terming him as being biased towards his presidential bid.
"For a chair of IEBC, Wafula Chebukati, is the wrong person. Even after leaving me out of the nomination process, he did not include me among the four that were nominated as candidates," Kigame stated.
Currently, the presidential race has four candidates including Raila Odinga (Azimio la Umoja), William Ruto (Kenya Kwanza), George Wajackoyah (Roots Party) and Waihiga Mwaure (Agano Party).
