UDA elections: Mystery, anger as candidates not on party register declared winners
A day after
the recent United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party elections, candidates who
were vying for seats in the just concluded polls have expressed concerns about
suspected interference with the voting process.
This
follows complaints on Friday from voters and aspirants regarding discrepancies
in voter and candidate names within the electoral system.
As per the
electoral procedure, Friday’s elected ward representatives become delegates
tasked with electing delegates at the constituency level, who then elect the
county chairperson, who then attends the National Delegates Conference (NDC) to
elect the party's national leaders.
In Embakasi
South Constituency, area aspirants indicate that despite the closure of polling
stations on Friday due to election irregularities and major challenges,
individuals whose names were not correctly registered in the system were
announced as winners, despite them not being able to vote.
“In my
polling station hatukuwa na uchaguzi but I appeared to be the winner na
sikujichagua mimi mwenyewe na sijachaguliwa na mtu yeyote,” said Embakasi South
Youth Representative Aspirant Stacy Nyambura.
This has
incited anger among aspirants who doubt the credibility of the election
outcomes. The aspirants are now calling for a redo of the elections.
“The members
who were coming to vote, they were coming to vote for who? All the polling
centres were closed so we are worried about where these numbers come from. If
this system cannot be audited and placed in safe hands, we are going to
compromise the elections of the party and that is one way of killing the
party,” Youth Representative Aspirant South Masaki Samwel stated.
Embakasi
South Chairman Aspirant Wycliff Mirina added: “What we want is free and fair
elections…ile kitu tuliambia Chairman ni kwamba sisi what we know is that there
were no elections at Embakasi South, we are assuring you that what happened
yesterday is that something was planned somewhere at somebody’s house.”
In Narok
County, controversy has emerged regarding the true victor, casting a shadow
over the outcome of the elections as Governor Patrick Ole Ntutu and his rival
Gabriel Ole Tongoyo both assert their claims to victory.
“The few
people who tried to disrupt the elections we know that they come from other
parties,” Ole Ntutu said.
Narok West
MP Gabriel Ole Tongonyo added: “We had a very bad situation where our
competitors from the other side engaged in gross misconduct, there was a situation
where they running away with the gadgets and go and voted in cars.”
Responding
to these grievances, Cleophas Malala, the Secretary General of UDA, has urged
all concerned and affected parties to officially submit their complaints to the
party via email by Sunday.
“Tunahimiza
watu wote ambao wakona malalamishi kama kura yako unaona haikuenda vizuri,
unaeza leta maswala ya kulalamika katika chama within 48 hours,” Malala said.
With tensions escalating and calls
for a redo of the elections gaining traction, the UDA leadership is under
increasing pressure to address the alleged irregularities and uphold the
integrity of their internal democratic mechanisms.
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