Presidential front runners Raila Odinga and William Ruto have both opted to field candidates from each party in their respective coalitions in an effort to win a majority in the National Assembly, Senate, Council of Governors, and county legislatures.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has published a Gazette Notice indicating that the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), a party led by Deputy President Ruto, has sponsored the most candidates for the relevant elective seats.
For the National Assembly, UDA has sponsored 261 candidates out of a total of 290 constituencies, followed by Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) with 181 candidates, and the Jubilee Party, led by President Uhuru Kenyatta, with 178 candidates.
Musalia Mudavadi’s Amani National Congress (ANC) and Moses Wetang’ula’s Ford Kenya each have 71 and 34 candidates vying for a seat in the National Assembly.
Other big parties that have fielded a sizable number of candidates include the Democratic Action Party-Kenya with 61, the Wiper Democratic Movement with 69, and the Kenya African National Union (KANU) with 78.
Parliament
It should be noted that the constitution permits the National Assembly to include 290 elected members, 47 county-level women representatives, and 12 members nominated by parliamentary political parties to represent the special interests of workers, youth, and people with disabilities.
UDA has presented 41 candidates for governor and 38 candidates for the Senate out of the 47 counties. Additionally, the party has the most candidates running for county assembly places.
ODM has filed 23 candidates for governor and 31 individuals vying for senate seats while the ruling Jubilee party is sponsoring 25 candidates for governor and 33 for the Senate.
In the Women rep seats Azimio has a majority of aspirants (100) compared to Kenya Kwanza with 68.
Also Read: Why Uhuru Settled For Karua As Raila’s Running Mate Despite Their Ideological Differences
