The Political Parties Dispute tribunal has nullified the Jubilee Party parliamentary nomination in Naivasha for violation of the law.
With less than three months to the general election, the tribunal has ordered a repeat of the exercise in conformity with Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission timelines.
Already, tens of aspirants who were seeking to vie for various seats a Jubilee ticket have gone independent, while others are in court seeking a refund of their nomination fees.
In the petition, the tribunal said no nomination exercise was conducted in Naivasha thus locking out Ndegwa Nguthiru who had been nominated as the party’s parliamentary candidate.
According to lawyer Njoroge Ngigi who filed the petition, Naivasha residents were never given a chance to exercise their democratic rights.
Njoroge, who is also seeking the parliamentary seat, lauded the court’s decision, saying justice had been served and the electorate given a chance to choose their candidate.
“We are happy with the court’s decision to annul the Naivasha nomination and we are calling on the Jubilee Party to call for a fresh exercise,” he said on Friday.
Addressing the press in Naivasha, he said the boardroom decision had adversely affected the party’s popularity but was hopeful that this could be corrected.
“Unlike other aspirants who went independent, I have stuck with Jubilee as I am sure that under Azimio La Umoja, we shall win in the next election,” he said.
One of his supporters, Stephen Mwangi, lashed out at the party’s top brass for nominating an 'outsider’ for them.
Mwangi said voters had been denied their democratic right by being locked out of voting for the popular aspirants.
“The court has come to our rescue as few individuals wanted to impose a leader on us, which amounts to dictatorship,” he said.
Another supporter, Mary Njeri, said the candidate picked by the party had failed four consecutive times.
“We are lifetime members of Jubilee, but we are deeply concerned over the manner that they picked candidates for particular seats without involving voters,” she said.
This was echoed by Anderson Gitau who said that an aspirant should be a reflection of the voters and not a few individuals.
(edited by Amol Awuor)
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