The electoral commission has reaffirmed that its decision to nominate Harold Kipchumba as John Mbadi’s replacement was done strictly in line with the law and the official party list submitted by ODM before the 2022 elections.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) stated that the next eligible nominee was determined based on the order of priority and gender in the list submitted by the party in July 2022.

The Commission said Kipchumba met the legal threshold as outlined under the Elections Act and supporting regulations.

“Section 37 of the Elections Act and Regulation 56B of the Elections (General) Regulations, 2012, provide that a party list seat that falls vacant shall be re-allocated to the next qualified nominee in order of gender and priority, as originally submitted by the political party. In this case, the nominee who qualified under the law was Mr. Harold Kimuge Kipchumba, who is of the same gender as Hon. Mbadi and was the next in line on the submitted list,” read the Commission’s statement.

The clarification comes amid dissatisfaction from a section of ODM members, particularly the party’s Youth League, who accused the IEBC of mishandling the process.

Led by Youth League President John Ketora and his deputy Martin Muthusi, the group claimed that Kipchumba’s nomination was irregular because it ignored the category listed on the party list. They insisted that the rightful nominee was Ketora, who was next under the “Workers” category, unlike Kipchumba, who was placed under “Persons with Disabilities.”

“We cannot replace a worker with a person with disability category because they already had their slot,” Muthusi said, arguing that the seat should be allocated in line with both category and priority as initially submitted.

The Youth League called on the IEBC to revisit the nomination, saying the decision had violated the party’s structure and created confusion within ODM.

ODM official David Kantai echoed the Youth League’s position, urging the electoral body to cancel the nomination and correct what he termed a clear mistake.

Ketora, while avoiding direct criticism of ODM leadership, laid blame on the Commission and hinted at taking further steps to address the issue.

“I will not expose my secret card, but we have reinforced every corner to ensure we handle this matter expeditiously,” he said.

Despite the pressure, the Commission dismissed the allegations, insisting its actions were guided by law and the original list.

“Respectfully, this is not accurate,” IEBC said in response to claims that it bypassed the