Raila Odinga vows to take ballot tender row to court
Nasa presidential candidate Raila Odinga addressing journalists at his office in Nairobi on June 19, 2017. He has said he will sue to block the ballot-printing tender awarded to a Dubai-based firm. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Odinga claimed the IEBC was pushed by the Jubilee government to award the tender to Al Ghurair.
- The opposition leader said the Dubai-based firm is tainted and should not have been awarded the tender.
National Super Alliance (Nasa) flag-bearer Raila Odinga has said the opposition will move to court to block the Sh2.5 billion ballot tender award awarded to a Dubai company.
Mr Odinga claimed that presidential ballot papers had already been printed despite concerns raised by the alliance.
He repeated claims that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) was pushed by the Jubilee government to award the tender to Al Ghurair.
"IEBC is not acting on their own but is being pushed by Jubilee to award the tender to Al Ghurair and we will go to court to block it," Mr Odinga
The opposition leader said Nasa is ready for elections but claimed that it is the electoral agency that is not ready.
ALARM
"There is no cause for alarm - as the opposition, we are ready for elections and its IEBC that is delaying us," he said.
The opposition leader said the Dubai-based firm is tainted and should not have been awarded the tender.
"Even a fool will tell you that there is something fishy about the company and as Nasa we will not be led to an already flawed process,” Mr Odinga said.
He said Jubilee cannot win in a free and fair election and that is why the President Uhuru Kenyatta-led party insisted the tender be awarded to Al Ghurair.
The electoral agency recently said it would not cancel the ballot printing contract.
IEBC officials explained that the deal had already been signed and that it was way behind its electoral cycle schedule.
