Clean up secretariat, Raila Odinga tells IEBC

Cord leader Raila Odinga has told the electoral agency to clean up its secretariat so as to restore confidence among Kenyans before the August elections.

Speaking at Avenue Hospital in Kisumu County after visiting ailing former minister Joseph Otiende, Mr Odinga warned that Kenyans cannot afford another rigged election.

He said the opposition has doubts about the integrity of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) secretariat, especially the department of information and communication technology (ICT).

Mr Odinga, accompanied by former National Assembly Speaker Kenneth Marende, also told the IEBC to be open about the exact number of voters whose identifications were questionable in its register.

“The IEBC secretariat had said the total number of people sharing identification details in the voters register was 128,926 but are now talking of 78,752. We need clear information on those who were double registered,” the former Prime Minister said.

He said the credibility of the register is crucial, adding that there needs to be an independent audit by an experienced firm.

“This is the reason we went to court because we don’t want anything that will deny Kenyans the right to a free, fair and credible polls,” he added.

Meanwhile, Mr Marende said he will announce his next political move Tuesday.

The former National Assembly Speaker, who has declared his interest in the Nairobi gubernatorial race, is set to rejoin ODM, which sponsored him to Parliament and supported his election as Speaker in 2008.

His next move will be seen as a betrayal by Jubilee, which appointed him as chairman of the Kenya Power board.