Row erupts in URP list ahead of submission

By VITALIS KIMUTAI(The Standard)

A few hours to the deadline for political parties to hand in their party lists to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), a row has erupted in the United Republican Party (URP) over parliamentary nominees.
A section of the URP national officials have disagreed over the list of the candidates who merit to be in the party list according to insiders.
Former Eldoret North MP William Ruto is the URP party leader and Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta’s presidential running mate in the Jubilee Coalition.
“Some officials want women to be the majority in the list even as the law demands that gender parity must be observed,” a high ranking national official said who declined to be named stated.
Front-runners for the nominations to National Assembly according to a list The Standard saw on Thursday morning are a youthful Nairobi businessman Mr Samuel Mburu, party activist Leah Supuko Naikanae, the daughter of National Heritage Minister Mr William Ntimama and Mohamed Antair Amin (Wajir County).
Mrs Millicent Nyaboge Omanga who has been named as the running mate for the Jubilee Coalition Gubernatorial candidate for Nairobi County Mr Ferdinand Waititu (TNA) is also in the list of those being considered for nomination to the Senate.
Omanga had declared interest in the Nairobi Senatorial position and kicked out her campaigns but is said to have dropped out after being picked as Waititu’s running mate.
Party officials who declined to be named claimed that there was a plot to remove Mburu from the list and replace him with a woman candidate to represent the youths.
“What I can tell you for sure is that there has been a heated argument among the selection panel members over the picking of Mburu as number one in the list of nominees to the National Assembly,” said a panel member.
Some of the officials were pushing for Ms Naikanae to be on top of the list and Mburu to be ranked as number five.
Mburu has been actively involved in the URP campaigns across the country and was instrumental in the formation of a party youth league in Nairobi County which was later incorporated in the presidential campaigns.
Ms Naikanae on the other hand has been an election Commissioner in charge of Rift Valley during the party nomination and also took charge of the region during the grassroots election.
Majority of those who applied for nomination to the Senate and the National Assembly in the party were women.
But Mr Nyule Ngumbao, the URP National Election Board (NEB) chairman said there was no row over the party list as was being alleged.
“We are working on the list right now and we shall release it to the IEBC at the close of business o Thursday” Ngumbao said on telephone.
Those who applied for nomination to the National Assembly according to the URP list are among others – Mr Adow Amran Duale (Garissa County), Ms Sergon Florence Jematiah (Nairobi County), Ms Marwa Rose Gaati (Migori County), Ms Violet Chesang (Uasin Gishu County) and Adan Noor Ali and Mohamed Mustafa Salat both from Mandera.
Mr David Ole Sankok and Benard Kemboi Koech from Narok and Elgeiyo Marakwet Counties respectively are being considered for nomination to parliament under the disabled category.
Others who applied for nomination to the Senate are – Ms Irene Cherop Masit, a former Commissioner at the defunct Interim Independent Boundaries Commission (IIBC), Ms Ogla Karani (Nairobi County), Ms Moss Beverly Cherop (Nakuru County), Ms Jepkoech Rose (Uasin Gishu), Ms Esther Somoire Karapio (Kajiado County) and Dullo Adan (Isiolo),
The party lists for the 12 nomination slots in the National Assembly and 20 in the Senate will be submitted to national elections by close of business on Thursday.
Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has spelt out strict guidelines to ensure the slots are filled after elections – in proportion to the seats a party wins – are reserved for special interests.
The party list will be ranked in order of priority and IEBC has directed the first three nominees must represent youth, a person with disability, and a worker.
Not more than one nominee shall be from the same ethnic community or registered voter in the same county.
Source:The Standard