Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu confirmed the number, Monday evening, to be the highest ever recorded to contest Kenya’s top seat. The presidential candidates cleared include perennial contestants Nazlin Omar, Nixon Kukubo, Muthiora Kariara who vied in 2017.
New entrants include gospel artiste Reuben Kigame, former Presbyterian Church of East Africa moderator David Githii and Grita Muthoni.
The independent aspirants include 106 governors, 147 senators, 110 women reps, 958 members of the National Assembly and 5 845 members of the county assembly.
They join the United Democratic Alliance (UDA), led by the Deputy President William Ruto, and Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement who were the first to kick off its primaries on 1 April.
President Kenyatta can no longer stand for re-election after two terms, but his deputy William Ruto is resenting him for backing Raila Odinga, a former prime minister, instead of him.
