Youre not fit to conduct 2017 elections, Duale tells IEBC

Youre not fit to conduct 2017 elections, Duale tells IEBC

National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale has claimed that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is not ready to handle the 2017 General Election.

Duale said that the just concluded Malindi by-election was shoddily executed, adding that the commission has no business handling the next poll if they plan to conduct it in the manner that they conducted the Malindi exercise.

The Garissa Township MP noted that the handling of the Malindi by-election should not be replicated in any other elections since it was marred by cases of voter bribery, intimidation and violence – irregularities that he pinned on members of the opposition.

He further called for the resignation of IEBC commissioners, led by the commission chair Isaack Hassan over the alleged lack of credibility in the Malindi by-election.

“I was in Malindi and what I saw did not meet electoral standards. Some voters who had not registered in Malindi were allowed to vote while electoral officers were compromised to favour the opposition.”

He added that they saw people who are not registered in Malindi voting, the clerks, returning officers and the security apparatus were also comprised.

The by-election was marred by cases of bribery with leaders from both CORD and Jubilee by arrested over the same.

ODM’s Director of Communications Philip Etale was arrested at his hotel on the morning of the elections with Kabete MP Ferdinand Waititu and his Mwea counterpart Peter Gitau being arrested later in the day over allegations of voter bribery.

The by-election was won by ODM’s William Baraka Mtengo who garnered 15,582 votes against Jubilee’s Philip Charo’s who got 9,243 to take the seat which was left vacant after the appointment of Dan Kazungu as Mining Cabinet Secretary last December.

Meanwhile, Nominated Senator Martha Wangari has reiterated the need to increase the funding of IEBC to ensure efficiency in execution of their roles.

Speaking in Mahiga Trading Centre in Gilgil on Saturday, Wangari said that in order for the commission to effectively execute its mandate as per law, there was need to ensure that it has the requisite resources to facilitate the same.

She said that with enough funding, the commission would easily overcome challenges in terms transport, civic education and also creating more registration and voting centres.

Wangari said that in order to assist IEBC realise its goals in the mass voter registration exercise set to end in two days, Senate had summoned the chief registrar over frequent complaints regarding the delayed release of national identification cards.

She said that collaboration between various arms of the government vital.

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Aden Duale

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