Opposition says it has way of preventing election rigging

Opposition leaders on Tuesday said they had come up with a foolproof way of preventing election rigging in the August polls.

Speaking in Tharaka Nithi, Nasa co-principal Raila Odinga said they would implement a ballot protection system at every polling station.

The former Prime Minister said: “We must adopt a polling station policy whereby each polling station must have a committee to detect and deter any incidents of vote stealing. They will report directly to our headquarters”.

Mr Odinga said Nasa will guard its votes and ensure Jubilee Party is defeated, by fielding candidates for ward and parliamentary positions as well as governor and senator. This way, he added, the coalition will be strengthened by having leaders at all elective levels.

“There is no enmity between our coalition partners,” said the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader. “You must guard our votes because this time we don’t want to complain about stolen votes.”

Mr Odinga, Mr Musalia Mudavadi (Amani National Congress), Mr Kalonzo Musyoka (Wiper Democratic Movement) and Mr Moses Wetang’ula (Ford Kenya) are on an extended vote hunting mission in Tharaka-Nithi.

After addressing rallies at Kathangacini and Gatunga markets, they met opinion leaders at Marimanti Market and headed to Marima in Maara. They claimed that there were indications that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) may not seal all loophoes that could allow election rigging.

Mr Mudavadi alleged a plot by the IEBC to rig the elections using advanced technology.

“Seven days have elapsed after Nasa wrote to IEBC demanding the commission addresses several issues concerning the elections,” said the former vice-president. “They have a technology they are planning to install to steal votes.

“However, this time round there is no room for theft.”

Mr Mudavadi observed that Jubilee may be tempted to rig the next election after discovering that data from the just-ended voter registration does not favour them. He said the gains made by Nasa in different regions cannot be underestimated.

“Do not be worried by the IEBC figures and statistics trying to stoke fears showing that our opponents attained 50 per cent of voter registration. Our strength now lies in the Nasa organisation,” he said.

Mr Odinga welcomed to Nasa the elder brother of Jubilee Senate Majority Leader and Tharaka-Nithi Senator, Prof Kithure Kindiki, Prof Isaiah Kindiki. The former Prime Minister announced that the elder Kindiki will be Nasa’s campaign co-ordinator in the county.

NOT AGREE

Prof Kindiki said he did not agree with his younger sibling’s political ideology, hence his decision to support the Opposition.

Mr Musyoka dismissed Senator Kindiki’s 2022 presidential ambitions, saying he was unlikely to make it to the ballot.

The former vice-president said it was time the Tharaka people rejected tribal alliances such as Gema (Gikuyu, Embu and Meru Association), saying they were a recipe for bad leadership.

The leaders asked the Tharaka community to rally behind the Opposition and vote out Jubilee, accusing it of neglecting them. They demanded that those displaced by the construction of the Sh150 billion High Grand Falls Dam on River Tana be adequately compensated.

At a press conference in Meru town earlier, Mr Odinga accused the government of failure to address insecurity, corruption, tribalism, lack of market for agricultural produce and high cost of living.