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Kenya football elections set for October
The long wait is now over. Football Kenya Limited (FKL) has finally released its notice for elections where the national elections are set for October 2nd.
FKL secretariat on Tuesday announced that the national office, branches, sub-branches shall hold their respective annual general meeting's (AGMs) at their respective registered offices. The sub-branches will conduct their exercise on September 18th.
The FKL branches will conduct theirs on September 25th followed by the national office slated for October 2nd.
A press statement by FKL media liaison officer John Kariuki noted that the agenda will be sent to the respective branches within the statutory period.
Last month, FKL held a special general meeting where members announced elections will be held in two months time under a new constitution which was ratified with few amendments.
Members approved the formation of an election board that will oversee the September polls led by Omar Hassan ,a commissioner with the Kenya Human Rights commission, David Musau, Mohammed Mahmod, Christine Karani and Tom Mauko.
However, it was resolved that any person wishing to contest in the elections must seek mandate from their respective clubs and branches or sub branches.
AFC Leopards chairman Julius Ochiel who attended the meeting was quoted saying that as long as a person is a representative of a club or from any branch can vie for any seat in the forthcoming election even if he derives from the Kenya Football Federation (KFF).
In the well attended meeting with delegates from all the 18 branches as well as officials from the sixteen Kenya Premier League clubs, the new changes in the statutes will now give other football stakeholders a voting right during the elections.
KPL got the lions share where one member will automatically get the second vice chairman's seat in the FKL national executive committee as well as one representative in the rotational committee.
It was also agreed that coaches, players, referees, women associations will also have one vote each during the elections where one must be duly elected by their respective bodies and names submitted to the FKL national executive committee for ratification.
“To me it was a turning point in Kenya football. We had only three agendas namely looking at the statutes, review suspensions and expulsions and confirm the election board.
Everything went smoothly since it was an open forum. What I can say is that KPL will continue to run the League while FKL maintain their supervisory role. There were no suspensions or expulsions since we want to bring harmony in football,” noted Ochiel.
The meeting also agreed that all the members must also respect and adapt the statutory provision requiring the process of arbitration in case of disputes as well as recognizing promoting fair play in football.
In what was seen as a break through between FKL and KPL, the latter agreed to conform to the new statutes by affiliating the league clubs to FKL and also to recognize its dispute resolution chamber as well as its national referees body.
According to FKL chairman Mohammed Hatimy all current officials are eligible to seek fresh mandate in the next elections.
“We have not suspended or expelled any member from FKL and all the delegates in the meeting have endorsed the new statutes,“' Hatimy noted.
Both FKL and KPL according to sources agreed to hold joint meetings towards developing football activities in the country.
Ashford Mamelodi the Fifa development officer who attended as an observer said the adoption of the new statutes are in line with the Fifa rules and regulations and expressed his joy that the Kenyan Football family has finally agreed to adapt them.
KPL clubs led by Gerald Chege and Ochiel said that this was a new era in our football.
“'We are happy to be able to secure an important vote on the game and we can now see a brighter light at the end of the tunnel”they quipped.
Another amendment of the current statutes will see branch officials who hold national posts to relinquish their branch seats while branch officials were urged to ensure that there were football activities in their areas of jurisdiction.
