Former Kakamega senator Boni Khalwale and Lang’ata MP Nixon Korir on Tuesday evening failed to answer two crucial questions regarding Macdonald Mariga's registration as a voter in Kenya.
Mariga, who had been picked as Jubilee Party's candidate for the Kibra parliamentary by-elections had gone to the IEBC to present his certificate and also undergo the scrutiny process.
During the process, it was found out that Mariga's details were missing on the voters' register of 2017.
The IEBC board asked the two leaders to state the date and month that Mariga was registered as a voter.
The leaders caught by surprise, couldn't state when Mariga got registered as a voter but rather said, “couldn’t remember but are sure that it was in 2019”.
However, they pointed out that IEBC is to blame for Mariga's “omission from the voters’ register” as it is their “administrative mistake."
On Tuesday evening, the IEBC Returning Officer in Kibra, Beatrice Muli disqualified Mariga from the Kibra parliamentary by-elections race.
She noted that his details were missing in the voters' register of 2017 thus he cannot vie in any elective post in the country.
The former Harambee Stars footballer's Jubilee Party team vowed to appeal the matter to the IEBC dispute resolution committee.
Mariga, with ODM Party candidate Imran Okoth were considered the top candidates to win the Kibra by-elections. However, Mariga's expulsion is a big relief for ODM.
The Kibra by-elections will take place on November 7, 2019.