Deputy governor files new case in dispute over delayed polls
Mombasa Deputy Governor William Kingi.
Mombasa Deputy Governor William Kingi has filed a case challenging the constitutionality of the electoral agency’s decision to postpone the county’s gubernatorial election.
Dr Kingi argues that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC) reliance on Section 55 B of the Elections Act to postpone the election violates national values and principles of good governance.
The IEBC, he argues, is circumventing constitutional timelines for conducting elections.
Dr Kingi, who is running under the Pamoja African Alliance (PAA) party, argues that it is not clear how to describe the impending election.
By referring to the Mombasa gubernatorial election as a by-election, the IEBC is suggesting that candidates must start afresh by presenting their nominations before their names are gazetted and a fresh election is conducted.
“The act of IEBC in postponing the gubernatorial elections for Mombasa county has greatly infringed on the constitutional provisions for the strict timelines as well as the fundamental rights and freedoms of the petitioner as well as the electorate within Mombasa,” argues Dr Kingi.
He wants the court to order the IEBC to issue a notice for the elections in accordance with Section 17 of the Elections Act on a date not less than 60 days before the polls are held.
The deputy governor also wants the IEBC to issue a notice of candidate nominations for the governor’s position and for the election day to be not less than 21 days after nominations.
By using Section 55 B of the Elections Act to postpone the elections in Mombasa, he argues, the IEBC has infringed the supremacy of the Constitution by using a statutory law to override constitutional timelines.
He also says the IEBC has failed to present minutes that led to the cancellation of governor elections in Mombasa as required under Article 35 of the Constitution.
He also wants a declaration that the election of governor is only lawfully held alongside that of Members of Parliament on the second
Tuesday of August of the fifth year and is incapable of extension of time through an Act of Parliament or an IEBC Kenya Gazette notice.
Dr Kingi argues that the rights of Mombasa voters to have a regular election for governor has been infringed and they have been denied the right to vote.
The petitioner says that in postponing the elections, the IEBC has breached its constitutional obligations by failing to conduct them within the time required under Article 180 of the Constitution.
He also wants the court to order the IEBC to provide the minutes of the meetings that postponed the elections twice and those justifying the decisions.
