Mwangi Wa Iria, a presidential candidate for the Usawa Kwa Wote party, blocked the entrance to Kenya’s Bomas on Monday.
The county boss who is serving his last term in office claimed the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) excluded his name from the list of presidential candidates.
Wa Iria told reporters outside Bomas that a person named Sunkuli, who claimed to be an IEBC official, told him that his name was taken off the list because he only provided signatures from nine counties although he actually submitted signatures from 24.
Read: EACC Summons Murang’a Governor Mwangi Wa Iria Over Irregularities In Tenders
“My personal thinking is that when we bring signatures here some people are selling them because there is no way you can accept my documents, you don’t give me feedback and then seven days later when I inquire, you send people to me informally,” said the county chief.
He alleged that the commission has been communicating with him through unauthorized means and have been avoiding him.
“No wa Iria, no election…” Governor Mwangi wa Iria supporters protest over omission of his name from Presidential candidates list pic.twitter.com/g0OIIwykQd
— Citizen TV Kenya (@citizentvkenya) May 30, 2022
There was a huge police presence as his supporters yelled “No Wa Iria, no election.”
Read Also: Senators Ask IG Mutyambai To Arrest Governor Mwangi wa Iria Over Failure To Honour Committee Summons
The Murang’a governor caused a stir on Sunday evening when he discovered his name was missing from the register despite having completed all of the initial requirements.
“Even people who failed to meet requirements are in the schedule but my name has been removed… No election will be conducted if I will not contest,” he said.
Wa Iria asserted that he had met all of the requirements, including presenting signatures from supporters in 24 counties, which the commission acknowledged.
“We cannot start rigging that far… They have deliberately removed my name today.”
He urged his supporters to show up for a meeting with IEBC chair Wafula Chebukati.
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