The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has announced that the by-election for the Kibra Parliamentary seat will be conducted on November 7, 2019.
The commission has given public officers seven days to resign from their positions if they wish to contest the seat left vacant by the death of Ken Okoth late last month.
Mr Okoth died at The Nairobi Hospital after a long battle with colon cancer on July 26, 2019 just two weeks after he returned home from Paris, France, where he was receiving treatment.
In a notice in the Kenya Gazette, the IEBC gave the political parties until August 26 to submit names of individuals who will participate in their primaries.
It ordered the parties to submit names of their candidates by September 3.
Those planning to contest the seat as independent candidates have until August 26 to submit to the commission their names and symbols they intend to use in the mini poll.
Successful aspirants in the primaries will have present their nomination papers top the returning officers between September 9 and 10.
IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati said disputes related to or arising from the nominations will be dealt within 10 days from the time they are lodged in the commission.
“The campaign period for the by election shall start on September 9 and cease on November 4, being 48 hours before the by election, and shall run between 7am and 6pm” Mr Chebukati said.
Political parties and independent candidates will appoint and submit names of their constituency agents before October 23.
He further announced that the registration of voters and revision of the register has been stopped until November 18, two weeks after the by election.
Already various individuals among them former MPs and contestants in the previous elections and other hopefuls have already started positioning themselves to succeed Okoth.
Some of those expected to seek the Orange party’s ticket include Mr Imran Okoth (brother to the late MP), Mr Eliud Owalo, former Embakasi South MP Irshad Sumra, former Senator Elizabeth Ongoro, ODM secretary-general Edwin Sifuna and ODM youth leader Benson Musungu.
Mr Owalo, served as the head of Mr Odinga’s 2013 presidential campaign secretariat and chief campaign manager.
Majority of the hopefuls were non-committal only saying they will make their positions clear after the seat is declared vacant.
With the dawn of the ‘handshake’ on March 9, 2018, it is expected that the battle will be domiciled in Mr Odinga’s ODM party of which Okoth was a member.
President Kenyatta’s Jubilee Party is expected to keep off the impending by-election in a similar fashion it did in Embakasi South and Ugenya last year.
ODM also reciprocated in Wajir West in the same year.
