People living with disabilities seeking to vie on United Democratic Alliance(UDA) in next year's polls can now sigh with relief, after their party leader William Ruto changed the nomination guidelines.
Speaking in Kisumu on Tuesday, November 9, the Deputy President stated that all PLWDs candidates seeking elective posts in UDA will not pay nomination fees.
This, he said, is in a bid to ensure that PLWDs who are a minority group are well represented in government, and are part of the country’s management.
“Any person with a disability running on a UDA ticket will run for free. There will be no nomination fees for them.
“I am sure we will be pushing the boundaries to make sure that people with disabilities have been included in the management of this country,” the deputy president stated.
Ruto’s directive is contrary to the requirements of an elective post for any aspirant in Kenya, as provided by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission(IEBC).
The body requires that all disabled candidates seeking an elective post submit Ksh 100,000 in cash or bankers' cheques.
While addressing the crowd in Raila Odinga’s backyard, the DP proceeded to champion his bottom-up economic model, and stated that unlike his rivals, all he is interested in is promoting the interests of the people.
He bashed the Orange Democratic Movement leader saying that all he is after is pursuing selfish interests.
He noted that the Building Bridges Initiative the former prime minister is pushing for is only to create more government positions, which does not in any way protect the interests of the common citizens.
“We must get rid of this mindset of creating more elective posts in government, and telling us that promoting the interests of the common people is not a priority.
Ruto was speaking in Kisumu on Tuesday, November 12, as he kicked off his two-day tour in the Nyanza region.
