President Ruto's UDA Party has granted a major reprieve to parastatal heads in their quest to contest for elective positions in the December 9 grassroots election.
The Party has now allowed Board chairmen and Chief Executive Officers to seek leadership positions in the forthcoming polls against an advisory given by Attorney General J. B Muturi and Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi.
In their advisory, Muturi and Mudavadi had declared that the parastatal heads were State Officers, and thus barred from taking part in political party activities.
But addressing the media at the Party headquarters, Party Secretary General Cleophas Malalah said UDA had followed in the wisdom of a ruling of the Court of Appeal that the board chairmen and Directors are not State Officers as per the Constitution, hence allowing them to contest in the elections.
Malalah who was flanked by Party Treasurer, Kitutu Chache North MP Japheth Nyakundi also said the party had decided to postpone registration for applications seeking the elective positions from its initial November 2, deadline to November 17, to allow more members to enlist themselves for the polls.
"Our systems have clogged due to the many members seeking to contest and we felt that if we go by today's deadline we will jeopardize them. We have moved that not to November 17," said Malalah.
He was however categorical that the grassroots elections will be held on December 9, as planned.
