A day after his name conspicuously missed out on the list of 16 candidates cleared by IEBC to run for the August 9, general elections, the electoral body has given Kalonzo another last chance to re-submit his papers for consideration.
This was after the commission said Kalonzo had failed to meet all the requirements needed for clearance.
The commission's chair Mr. Wafula Chebukati said Kalonzo had submitted the list of signatures from voters supporting his bid in PDF format instead of Excel format as stipulated by the commission.
However, the IEBC on Saturday, May 28, gave Kalonzo's Wiper party up to 9 am on Sunday (today) to comply with all the requirements and submit the name of their presidential candidate.
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While responding to Wiper's complaints, Mr. Chebukati said the commission had considered the party's request to re-submit the soft copy of Wiper's list of supporters in Excel format.
"The commission has considered and acceded to your request to be allowed to submit the soft copy of your list of supporters in excel format by 29th May 2022 at 9:00 am at the Bomas of Kenya, failure to which your documentation will not be certified as compliant," read IEBC's letter to Wiper party's National Elections Board Agatha Solitei.
This was after Wiper on Saturday, faulted IEBC for striking out Kalonzo's name from the list despite presenting all the required documents.
According to Agatha Solitei, the 'mistake' that led to Kalonzo's name being left out of the race was not Wiper's but rather IEBC's.
Wiper said the vetting of candidates should be between the parties and IEBC, saying its decision to release a statement to the media was wrong.
Solitei also disputed a section of the media that had already stated that Kalonzo had been disqualified from the race due to non-compliance.
"We are saddened to learn that IEBC and its officers have released a statement to the media concerning the names of those candidates who have been cleared and those who have not been cleared when the verification exercise is not even over. We want to remind media of their crucial role in the promotion of honest and accurate reportage, and remind them that we are bound by the electoral code of conduct at all times while discharging our constitutional rights," said Wiper in a statement.
"We want to clarify that Wiper party followed all IEBC requirements and that our candidate Kalonzo Musyoka will be on the ballot come August general polls" added Wiper
