Voting delayed as identification gadgets fail

Voting was delayed in many parts of Nyandarua, Nakuru and Murang’a counties after the electronic identification gadgets developed problems.

At Gitwe polling station in Kipipiri constituency, the exercise was paralysed for nearly two hours.

The same was witnessed in Ol Joro Orok constituency where the returning officer, Mr Simon Muriithi, said a number of polling stations were affected.

KIEMS KITS
About 40 per cent of the registered voters had cast their ballots by 11am, a situation Mr Muriithi said was promising.

A similar percentage was recorded in Kinangop and Ol Kalou constituencies.

Voting was also delayed for hours at some polling stations in Ndaragwa constituency.

The returning officer, Mr Nelson Namu, said Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission officials discovered the problem early and replaced the gadgets.

FINGERPRINTS
Kipipiri returning officer Festus Ngeera directed IEBC officials to extend voting hours at Gitwe polling centre to compensate for the lost time.

At Huruma polling station in Ol Kalou, the presiding officer, Mr Ndiritu Thuku, said he hoped all registered voters would have cast their ballots by 4pm. 

“It is not as complicated as the August 8 General Election. We are moving fast and that is why queues appear short,” he said.

At DEB Primary School polling station in Molo constituency, some voters waited for hours as the kits would not identify their fingerprints.

Electoral officers asked them to wipe their fingers before retrying.

VOTERS' REGISTER
In Kuresoi South constituency, a few voters were turned away when their names were found missing from the register.

Keringet Secondary School polling station presiding officer Abiud Ng’eno told the Nation that the names of two men could not be found in the voters’ roll.

Most polling stations opened at 6am with just a handful of voters trickling in.

The exercise, however, went on smoothly, with numbers improving as the day progressed.

Mr Ng’eno expressed confidence that the process would end smoothly.

UNITY
Nakuru Woman Representative Liza Chelule, Deputy Governor Erick Korir and area MP Joseph Tonui praised IEBC for conducting a smooth election.

Dr Korir, who cast his vote at Saptet Primary School, expressed confidence that the county would record 100 per cent voter turnout in support of President Uhuru Kenyatta.

“It is good to see such a big number of voters coming to vote for the President. This shows that our area is a Jubilee zone,” the deputy governor said.

Ms Chelule urged Nakuru residents to maintain peace and remain united.

VOTERS' ISSUES
Mr Tonui, who voted at Estate Primary School in Keringet town, thanked the residents “for turning out in large numbers to vote”.

In Murang’a, a number residents were told to wait following failure of the voter identification kits. Their fingerprints could not be identified.

Murang’a Woman Representative Sabina Chege said she received calls from residents who had been turned away from polling stations by electoral commission officers.

“We talked to the officials and asked them to verify voter details on the manual register,” Ms Chege told journalists at Blue Post Hotel where she and her team were having refreshments after travelling from Nairobi to pay bus fare for residents who wished to go back home to cast their ballots.

“We also asked the people who had been turned away not to give up. We hope that by evening the issue will have been resolved.”

PROTESTS
The lawmaker said the affected residents included tea pickers and those working in quarries, many of who took part in the August 8 General Election.

The woman representative asked groups disrupting the presidential election re-run in several parts of the country to stop.

“Denying someone his or her right to vote is against the law. We have been engaged in politics and campaigning since last year and the campaigns are tiring,” Ms Chege said.

“Businesses have suffered and Kenyans want to begin looking for their children’s school fees.

"That is why we need to get the government moving so that our economy can be where it should be. We want to make free secondary schooling a reality as we promised,” she said.

The MP thanked Kenyans who turned up to vote and urged them to continue praying for the country.

The woman representative said she was confident that President Uhuru Kenyatta would emerge victorious.

Reports by Waikwa Maina, Joseph Openda, Lamech Willy and Mary Wambui