Ex-footballers want IEBC to manage FKF polls
Kespa President Harold Ndege (left) and former FIFA referee David Gikonyo address a press conference at Chester House in Nairobi on February 7, 2024.
What you need to know:
- FKF delegates are expected to ratify and adopt the electoral code in the Annual General Meeting slated for March 16.
- “The election should be conducted by an independent institution like Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission of Kenya (IEBC) so as to have a process that is free, fair and transparent, with no intimidations and which will have the correct and valid voter register,” said Ndege.
Debate on the upcoming Football Kenya Federation (FKF) elections slated for October continues to gather momentum with former footballers calling on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to handle the polls.
Kenya Soccer Players Association (Kespa) on Wednesday in a press briefing said FKF elections can’t be held with the same Electoral Code used in the 2020 polls
Kespa President Harold Ndege said the code will bar many aspiring candidates and favours the current FKF leadership ahead of the contest.
“The FKF Electoral code 2020 proposes that the FKF Secretary General may attend the FKF Electoral board meetings in an advisory capacity with no vote. This is a conflict of interest within the current administration at FKF,” said Ndege.
On January 6, the FKF National Executive Committee passed a resolution allowing the polls to be conducted via the Election Code of 2020.
Ndege added that the rules in the electoral code on a candidate’s eligibility to run must be done away with.
The code states that one vying for the FKF top seat should be active in football for three of the last four years. Mr Ndege said the code can’t be implemented since the section on candidate eligibility was nullified by the Sports Dispute Tribunal (SDT) and the whole thing is not aligned with Sports Act 2013.
“The code is designed to have a winner even before the commencement of the elections. This is by denying Kenyan citizens who fund the same FKF an opportunity to seek leadership positions,” said Ndege.
He was accompanied by former Harambee Stars striker Dennis Oliech, retired Fifa referee David Gikonyo, and former footballer Frank Ogolla.
FKF delegates are expected to ratify and adopt the electoral code in the Annual General Meeting slated for March 16.
“The election should be conducted by an independent institution like Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission of Kenya (IEBC) so as to have a process that is free, fair and transparent, with no intimidations and which will have the correct and valid voter register,” said Ndege.
The group also called on the federation to conduct all the elections from the grassroots to the national level following the laws and constitution of Kenya.
