MPs reject IEBC’s bid to bar party hoppers
Members of Parliament have overruled the electoral agency proposal seeking to bar party hoppers from contesting as independent candidates.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) had sought to bar losers in party primaries from contesting as independent candidates.
This offers relief to politicians who might feel aggrieved in the party nominations to be held between tomorrow and April 22.
The adoption of the proposal means that those who participate in party primaries and lose have 10 days to resign as members of a political party and contest as independent candidates.
“The IEBC should consider bringing proposal at the commencement of the next Parliament,” read the report.
In a report tabled in the National Assembly, the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee has also rejected the restrictions imposed by the agency on voter polling stations transfers.
The committee argued that since politicians were barred from changing parties after the March 26 deadline for the presentation of party names, it would be unfair not to provide an avenue for those aggrieved to still contest in the August polls.
They have also adopted the proposal to allow for the complimentary transmission of results which will be in compliance with the Supreme Court ruling in 2017.
