A Nairobi architect, Nyongesa Makhanu has filed a petition at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to allow presidential election runners-up to be nominated to the National Assembly.
The petition dated September 30, 2022, also seeks to have the runner-up’s running mate get an automatic nomination to the Senate.
This would mean the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition leader Raila Odinga would be back in the 13th parliament after a decade while his running mate Martha Karua would make it to the Senate for the first time.
In the same petition, Makhanu also seeks to have the election date changed to the third week of December from August.
The petitioner argued December was best suited because it has minimal effect on the Kenyan economy regarding work schedules and the school calendar.
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"That holding presidential election on the Second Tuesday of August affects national economic activities negatively, particularly the tourism sector because it clashes with the season for the wildebeest migration in the Serengeti and Masai Mara ecosystem," the petition reads.
"That holding presidential elections and General Election after Jamhuri Day and before Christmas will be more in synchrony with the national economic, financial, and academic calendars."
The petitioner also argues that the voting style is tribal and often leads to voter apathy.
Makhanu also proposes a change in the current constitution to have the presidency become rotational to allow other communities to lead in the future.
He argued the Constitution should not allow candidates from the community of the sitting president and their predecessor for a better representation.
However, Makhanu exempted the sitting president at the time of the enactment of the new law.
