The electoral commission is asking the High Court to dismiss a case seeking to force political parties to comply with the two-thirds gender rule during nomination of candidates for elective positions. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission says it does not have powers to obligate political parties to stick to law, which requires them to implement two-thirds gender rule in their nomination for the position of MPs and senators. The commission says that though it has been given the mandate to regulate the process through which parties nominate candidates for election, there is no law to guide it on how the two-thirds gender rule implementation can be realised. Katiba Institute holds the view that IEBC is by law prohibited from accepting a list from a political party that fails to meet the requirements of the two-thirds gender rule. The IEBC has already set out the timelines for the nomination process indicating March 23 as the date when political parties must submit names of candidates for party primaries.

Source: The Star March 10, 2017 21:13 UTC