Oswago says he was aware of rigging in 2013 elections

Former electoral commission chief executive James Oswago on Thursday said he was aware all along that the 2013 elections were allegedly being rigged.

However, Mr Oswago said there was not much he could have done about it.

“Even if I was told that the elections were being rigged, what could I have done?” Mr Oswago asked.

He pointed out that “no elections are won on the day of voting”.

Speaking on Radio Ramogi, which broadcasts in Luo, he said: “Elections are won right from time voters are registered and during the party primaries.”

Mr Oswago also called for investigations to establish why the electronic voter transmission system collapsed during the 2013 General Election.

He said the system had been properly tested by the commission, but it “spectacularly collapsed”.

The system, he explained, worked perfectly in all the by-elections held after the March 4, 2013 poll.

Mr Oswago said the commission was not responsible for the failure of the electronic results transmission system, blaming “external forces”.

IEBC vice-chairman Lillian Mahiri-Zaja said she never heard about or witnessed any rigging during the elections.

“If, indeed, Mr Oswago knew something that put at risk the elections, why didn’t he point it out and what did he do to correct it?” asked Ms Mahiri-Zaja.