Why Wiper Kalonzo Musyoka will not be in the August 9 presidential race: Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka will not participate after the electoral commission banned him from the Aug. 9 presidential race for technical reasons.
Mr. Musyoka did not provide a list of his supporters in the required Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. He was one of four party candidates and nine independents who failed to meet the IEBC’s stringent requirements of 48,000 supporters in at least 24 boroughs by failing to correctly display supporters’ names and copies of national ID cards. For Mr. Musyoka, the defeat of the first hurdle marked the end of his brief presidential bid, which began after he failed to secure Azimio’s running mate.
Even before the IEBC announced his withdrawal from the race, Mr. Musyoka’s supporters and Wiper contenders had been pressuring him to return to the Kenya Alliance Party and shut down Raila Odinga-Martha Karua’s ticketing support.
His options are limited now, as he can’t legally leave Azimio either.
But he was walking a tightrope when he planned to rejoin the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition Party.
Meanwhile, the Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission (IEBC) has approved 16 candidates who will start submitting nomination papers today.
The list includes nine promising parties/Coalitions and seven independents.
Main candidate Azimio la Umoja Raila Odinga and United Democratic Alliance deputy-president William Ruto are among the candidates admitted to the IEBC.
