Kenya: IEB Clubs List Sparks Debate

Nairobi Star (Nairobi)

Muigai Kiguru

21 July 2011

The list of clubs to vote at the national football polls on August 13 has sparked outrage among candidates. The list released on Tuesday by the Independent Electoral Board has apparently hundreds if not thousands of clubs missing. Areas most affected include Nairobi, Mombasa, Kitale, Meru, Trans Mara, Voi and South Rift where most teams have been omitted with other areas failing to have any representatives on the premise they have not been active in the last two seasons, a provision stipulated in the Electoral Code.

The list contains only 747 clubs with the IEB insisting they were the ones that competed during the 2009 and 2010 leagues and therefore the only ones qualified to vote in the August 13 polls. Extreme Sports CEO Hussein Mohammed declared yesterday the omission of clubs was a sure way of rigging the elections and wondered why the list had taken such a long time to be released. “Already, there are serious concerns about the list released as genuine clubs from across the country have been locked out and most stakeholders perceive this as signs of rigging the elections,” Hussein said. He also observed that candidates are not being informed on the progress the board is making towards the elections and are only picking up things in the media. “I am running for the position of national chairman and Sammy Sholei for the position of first vice chairman and yet we have not officially received the list of “approved” clubs that shall be used as the voter register in the upcoming elections,” Hussein added. “The deadline for submitting nomination papers is less than 24 hrs away and I can’t help but wonder whether this is yet another deliberate plan to lock out some individuals and clear the path for others. “As candidates we have already received nominations and secondments from football clubs as per the electoral code, but again, according to media reports, the IEB have apparently released another draft list that they say is for nomination purposes,” he added. “What now happens to our nomination papers considering all the clubs that nominated us may not be on that list? What happens if we get fresh nominations and the provisional list changes again? IEB must come out clearly and state that they will not lock out any candidate if they have received nominations from clubs that are in any list that has been posted so far.”

Clubs from Nairobi have also raised a red flag over the list fronted by the IEB. “How can I not be in the list while the team that I have been competing against have been enlisted,” quipped Mbotela Kamaliza secretary George Onyango. “This is unfair and we are going to make them (IEB) know that we are not pleased by making a formal appeal.” “I don’t understand how a place like Voi is missing from the list despite having taken part in the various leagues in recent years,” Sholei wondered.

AllAfrica – All the Time