The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has maintained that presidential candidates have only five days to name their running mates during the August election.

The IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati said on Sunday that the choice of running mates works in tandem with the ongoing primaries whose deadline is set for April 28, 2022.

IEBC also stated that gubernatorial candidates should also submit the names of their running mates by the same deadline.


“It is our considered view that by the time the party nomination window closes, presidential candidates should have nominated their running mates. And thereby the commission further stated that, the requirement that presidential and gubernatorial candidates submit names of their running mates by 28th of April 2022 falls within the commission's mandate,” Chebukati said.

This comes after the commission dismissed a petition by Azimio la Umoja that fought IEBC’s requirement that presidential candidates must name their running mates by April 28, 2022.


Chebukati invoked Article 148 of the Kenyan Constitution, which states that each candidate in a presidential election shall nominate a person who is qualified for nomination as president and as a candidate for deputy president.

In a statement to all political parties, Chebukati noted there won’t be a separate nomination process for the deputy president due to the fact that the president and the running mate run on a single ticket.


Chebukati also mentioned that the qualifications of a president and deputy president were the same.