IEBC To Summon These By-Election Candidates

Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairperson Erastus Ethekon has announced that the commission will summon Kasipul by-election candidates following reports of campaign violence.

Speaking on Friday, November 14, Ethekon revealed that IEBC has set up a code of conduct committee that will begin summoning candidates from Monday.

He explained that the move comes after the electoral body’s investigations team completed an assessment in Kasipul.

“On the issue of Kasipul, we are aware, and we have heard reports of incidents of violence. As a commission, immediately after we were notified of the situation in Kasipul, we dispatched our investigations team to the ground. They have concluded their assessment of the situation, and we have that report.

A photo collage of Kasipul MP candidates Boyd Were (left) and Philip Aroko (right). /VIRAL TEA KE

“What we are doing as a commission, guided by the laws of Kenya, we have empaneled the code of conduct enforcement committee, which will commence its work on Monday to summon the candidates in Kasipul and anybody who has information on what happened,” said Ethekon.

Ethekon said the committee is expected to handle the summons quickly and issue its findings without delay.

“They will conduct the hearing, and within the shortest time possible, we will make a determination on what needs to be done as far as addressing the incidents in Kasipul,” he said.

He also assured the public that IEBC has the tools needed to act if any candidate in the upcoming by-election is found to have violated the electoral code of conduct.

“I want to assure Kenyans that we have a range of tools to deploy and to use where necessary, where candidates participating in these byelections are found to be in breach of the electoral code of conduct,” the IEBC Chairperson stated.

The developments come just days after two people were killed and several others injured in Kasipul when suspected goons stormed a rally held in Central Kasipul by ODM candidate Boyd Were.

Boyd blamed his main opponent, Philip Aroko, for the violence, while Aroko dismissed the claims and accused Boyd’s team of using force to intimidate his supporters.

The update follows an earlier IEBC warning that Kasipul candidates and their parties risk disqualification after the escalating violence that left two people dead.

Such disqualifications could throw the Kasipul by-election into uncertainty, especially since the seat fell vacant after Boyd's father, the late Charles Ong'ondo Were, was killed in broad daylight by armed attackers.

At the same time, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja said officers will fast-track investigations into the clashes ahead of the November 27 polls.

The IEBC national tallying centre at Bomas of Kenya. /BOMAS OF KENYA