The National Liberal Party (NLP) is seeking for court action after after its party leader Dr. Augustus Muli was replaced by Wiper’s Koki Muli as Azimio representative of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioners’ selection committee.
The party said the Muli’s’ candidacy in the selection panel was voted by the constituent parties in an election that was presided over by IEBC officials.
According to NLP, Muli’s name was forwarded by the Political Parties Liaison Committee to the panel after the lawful and procedural process.
Addressing the press on Tuesday, July 30th, 2024, NLP leader Augustus Muli and Secretary General (SG) Omondi Koyoo accused Azimio Secretary General Junet Mohamed and Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka of short-changing and hijacking the PPLC led mandate to second the name of Koki.
NLP says the duo has usurped their mandate even as they appealed for a speedy intervention by National Assembly speaker Moses Wetangula to reign on the matter.
Koyoo and Muli stated that they will fight for inclusion in the selection panel even if it is going to court to halt the process.
On Monday, July 29th, 2024, evening the Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Alliance political outfit wrote to the Speaker of The National Assembly indicating it’s intention to replace Dr Augustus Kyalo Muli with Dr Koki Muli citing lack of necessary qualifications and credentials to represent the Coalition in the IEBC panel and that National Liberal Party endorsing it’s party leader is not a parliamentary party within the coalition.
The deadline to submit the names of those appointed in the select was yesterday. So far Dr Nelson Makanda and Fatuma Saman have been fronted by the Inter-Religious Council while Tanui Andrew Kipkoech has been nominated by the Institute of Certified Public Accounts of Kenya , while Nicodemus Bore will represent the Majority party as Evans Misati represents Non-Parliamentary Parties.
The selection panel has 3 months to carry out it’s recruitment exercise and forward the names of the nominees to the president, thereafter it shall stand dissolved unless it’s mandate is extended by the Head of the State.
The NLP leader says the move by the Azimio Coalition to replace him is illegal and that he was duly elected and he is now threatening to move to court if he is not gazetted with the other members of the panel.
President William Ruto is expected to gazette the names of the selection panel members to kick start the hiring process of the electoral commissioners.
