Candidates accuse Jubilee of planning to rig Kibra election
Some candidates in the forthcoming Kibra by-election have accused Jubilee Party of scheming to rig the vote.
Besides calling for the disqualification of the party aspirant, McDonald Mariga, for campaigning from the official residence of the Deputy President in Karen, the candidates also expressed fears that the voters’ register has been doctored, bringing in outside voters.
However, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) dismissed the claims as propaganda.
Independent candidate, Alex Aliti, claimed there is a precedent being created in the ongoing campaigns that threatens a free and fair by-election on November 7.
“There is a situation being created that shows clearly that the forthcoming exercise is already predetermined. It is not wise for a date of an election to be given when the IEBC is not prepared; the voters’ register not out two weeks to the by-election, and polling stations have been moved, yet people have not been told,” he said during an IEBC stakeholders forum at the City County’s Engineering hall on Ngong’ Road yesterday.
New voters
ANC candidate, Eliud Owalo claimed that 30,000 new voters have been introduced to the 2017 register containing 118,000 names.
“I want to believe that it is an imagination that 30,000 old voters are removed and replaced with a similar number of new ones. We need to know in advance that names of voters are missing so that we can address this issue early enough,” he said.
His claims were echoed by the ODM candidate, Bernard Okoth Imran and the Party’s Nairobi Branch chairman and Makadara MP, George Aladwa who claimed that voters have already been imported to the constituency.
“Kibra is not just any constituency. It is not like Makadara where you can just walk freely. We have information that some people have been going door-to-door recording numbers of ID and mobile phone numbers of residents at night,” said Aladwa appealing to IEBC to move faster and arrest the alleged situation.
“You should not conduct a bad election if you want to be counted as heroes. People want to elect a leader of their choice, and not through doctored voters’ registers. This story of Kibra will bring a lot of issues if not handled properly. Jubilee should not conduct its candidates’ campaigns in a government facility, let them go to Jubilee Centre,” he said.
The Commission’s Returning Officer for the by-election, Beatrice Muli denied the claims of of a doctored register and said IEBC will gazette the list it will use for the exercise this week.
“We will pin all the names of voters for every polling station on November 1, six days to the voting day,” she said.
Commission’s director in charge of legal Salome Oyugi said the law provides for continuous registration of voters. “Article 83 (3) of the Constitution allows for a continuous registration exercise of voters which also includes constant updating of the voters’ register,” she said.
Another independent Candidate, Fridah Kerubo called on the IEBC to integrate the new and old voters’ registers and make it publicly available for cross-check purposes.
“We also want the Commission to come out and clarify to the voters on the movement of some polling stations. Indicate this on a public notice and if the registers are in tandem with the move,” she said.
Ford Kenya’s Khamis Butichi said the candidates expect voters’ names be in the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS) kits register. “But when we are told that the names are not in the KIEMS kits, it raises eyebrows,” he said.
The candidates asked to be allowed to release names of their respective agents two days to the voting day to avoid any possibility of bribery.
Mariga, who was present during the meeting, however, remained tight-lipped amidst the allegations.
