Thousands apply for party nomination posts in Parliament

ODM Secretary General Agnes Zani address a press conference on party primaries.18/03/2017. Photo by WILLIS AWANDU

 

Close to 10,000 hopefuls among them party primary losers are seeking nomination to be lawmakers.

 

The Standard has established that President Uhuru Kenyatta's Jubilee Party has received 6,020 applications from those seeking nomination to the National Assembly, Senate and county assemblies.

The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) has received 1,200 applications.

Other parties allied to NASA; Ford Kenya, Amani National Congress and Wiper are also  grappling with a high number of interested candidates hoping to get a ride to the House.

There are indications the number will balloon as the Saturday deadline set by the electoral agency approaches.

By yesterday, many political parties were still receiving applications. Some said they were yet to tally as they were processing the applications but termed the response as overwhelming.

"There is definitely a scramble for the seats. We are meeting this week to look at the names that we have received before coming up with a final list. To be considered, one must have worked for the party and must prove loyalty," said ODM chairman John Mbadi.

"They are so many. I can comfortably say we have received many applications and some of them are from MCA aspirants who lost in our nominations," said Ford Kenya Secretary General Eseli Simiyu.

The parties are expected to filter the staggering numbers before they can forward the lists to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

JP Secretary General Raphael Tuju said the applications window was closed on Friday last week and the party was about to start processing the names before the June 24 deadline.

He said some of the considerations would be based on gender, people living with disabilities and minority groups.

"The party had also encouraged those who lost in the nominations by a small margin to apply for consideration," he said.

Sources said ODM  Secretary General Agnes Zani and National Elections Board (NEB) Judith Pareno were set to be nominated.

Ms Pareno is said to be under pressure from losers in the primaries who are determined to shoot down her name in the East Africa Legislative Assembly (EALA) list.

Others in the list are Kisumu Woman Rep Rose Nyamunga, who lost in the primaries to Rosa Buyu. She has applied for both Senate and MP slots. Kakamega Woman Rep Rachel Amolo has also applied for both Senate and MP slots.