Lawyers have kicked off a nationwide exercise to elect a new Law Society of Kenya (LSK) president to replace Allen Gichuhi. The new president will serve a three-year term from 2020 to 2022. The lawyers are also electing their Council and Disciplinary Committee Members.
Voting in the elections happening in 36 Stations spread in different law courts across the country, opened at 830 AM and is expected to close at 5PM. Voters who will be on the queue at 5pm shall be allowed to vote.
According to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission IEBC, which is conducting the elections, there are 10,759 registered voters spread in 36 polling stations located in court premises across the country. The ballot papers have different color codes to distinguish the 7 elective positions. The main tallying centre will be at the Law Society of Kenya Secretariat Lavington, on Gitanga Road, where people will converge from 7.00 pm.
Lawyers contesting for the top seat are Nelson Havi, Charles Kanjama Maria Mbeneka and Harriette Chiggai. The new president will be tasked with offering solutions to challenges bedevling the LSK both internally and externally such as including transparency, and dealing with public perception on operations of some of those in the legal profession. Questions have also been raised on declining quality of lawyers training.