Gor close membership registration ahead of elections

Only about 700 voters will participate in Gor Mahia’s election set for next month, Electoral Board Secretary Kennedy Mbara has said.

Mbara has also confirmed the registration process ahead of the polls ended on Monday midnight, with the club’s secretariat handing over the register for verification to the board.

The elaborate calendar for the elections will be known next week, once the nomination papers are handed by contestants  for the four positions up for grabs.

“What I have seen from the register that we have is slightly above 600, but apart from members voting, the club has branches paid up to date which will have their representatives voting. We have not received particular information about the branches from the office but we know as at Monday, about 20 branches had met registration qualification. Thus, we are talking about not more than 700, but we will finally get the specific number,” explained Ambara.

Ambara also stressed only individuals with a minimum academic qualification of a bachelors degree will be allowed to compete in the elections.

The provision, was not in the requirements for the last elections, and has been a subject of discussion with a section of supporters saying it targets certain individuals wishing to remain in the K’Ogalo leadership.

“What I have noted that deviates from the past requirements is that of academic qualification. it is now an irreducible minimum. You are aware that Gor reviewed its constitution sometime last year, and this was captured in the constitution,” he noted.

With August 8, 2020 being the tentative date for the elections, Ambara says they are yet to set the final dates for handing nomination papers. However, the process could kickoff “over the weekend, or early next week.”

“However, the process should not go beyond July 16, as the club requires the official date for the election be published 21 days before the election itself. Once we receive the nomination papers from the aspirants and clear them depending on how they fair on the eligibility criteria, we will then publish their names for candidature within three days,” further elucidated Ambara.

The three member board was established by the club’s executive, with the basic qualifications being knowledge of the sport and understanding of the laws and regulations guiding the process.

With the unofficial campaigns on, nobody has shown interest to compete against Chairman Ambrose Dickson Rachier. Other seats to be contested are Vice-Chair, Honorary Treasurer and Secretary General, with the abolishment of several others that were contested for in the last election.

Sally Bolo (current Treasurer) wants to contest for the Vice-Chairman post, a seat also targeted by one Francis Wasuna.

Long serving official Ronald Ngala will go for the Secretary General, which has also attracted one Sam Ochola, while the Honorary Treasurer has reportedly drawn interest from Judith Nyangi, Chrisphine Okoth, Dolfina Onduto, and Victor Mbaka.