Kenya set to hold the most contested elections

Of this, 11, 309 aspirants vying for different posts on party tickets according to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)

Njeri Kimani, editorial@alleastafrica.com

NAIROBI –The Kenyan August 2017 general election might be the most contested with 16,259 politicians vying for different posts. This is the highest number the country has recorded since the gain of multipartism that the country gained in 1992.

Of this, 11, 309 aspirants vying for different posts on party tickets according to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

The figure could be higher with the inclusive of independent candidates, believed to be about 4950. The total number of post is 1882, slating from President, Governor, Senator, Member of County Assembly, Member of Parliament and Women Representatives.

Eight people will be seeking to unseat President Uhuru Kenyatta on different party tickets, with 11 more seeking the seat on an independent ticket.

The 19 candidates have already been cleared by the IEBC and are slated to begin their official campaign in three weeks time.

180 people have also expressed interest in the governor’s seat, despite the fact that Kenya only has 47 cpounties.260 people have been nominated for the county women representative position and 1 470 for the Member of Parliament post.

However, the MCA seat has schocked many, with 9, 133  politicaisn seeking elections in 1450 wards.

Yet, many kemyans have the feeling that they are not neccesarily seeking the psot so that they could  represent the people on their ward or amend the county laws as they are mandated to do by the consittioon.

“It’s the easiest loophole for stealing county resources. Many will often refuse to pass bills facourignthe  assembly  until they are bribed either by the governer or by the County Speaker,” Siad Julius Maina, a political analyst.

Maina pointed out that many of the current ones have failed to oversee how county funds are spent and instead  ended up with serious scandals and cases of corruption.

Hence, their huge numbers might cause a stagnation of the electoral process especially since their  large numbers will  force someone to spend more time at the voting booth perusing for their candidate.