ODM: Check anomalies in voter listing

By Felix Olick

The ODM Party has alleged a plot by the Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) or its agents involved in voter listing to rig the March General Election.

The party claimed to have credible information that a section of IEBC registration clerks were working in cohorts with some individuals to frustrate ODM party members and supporters.

Party Secretary General Anyang Nyong’o told journalists at Orange House in Nairobi yesterday that the Orange party had detected cases where individuals have gone to register only to discover that their national identity card numbers had been used to register other individuals.

“In Bungoma, there are cases where individuals have gone to register only to discover that their ID numbers had been used to register other individuals from other constituencies such as Nyeri,” claimed Nyong’o.

He also said they have received reports that some registered voters were being lured into selling their details.

He claimed that in Nairobi’s Embakasi Constituency, the exercise was being coordinated by a TNA aspirant, adding that the party has evidence that they would present to the Commission next week.

Faulty machines

Nyong’o also faulted IEBC for merging some polling stations. He said in Marsabit where three polling stations have been merged, a faulty machine was being used.

The minister added that some Biometric Voter Registration units were operating offline thus the records could be sent to a local database or be transferred by statisticians to a central database.

“Subsequently there is a high chance of voters losing out in the process of being rejected during voting due to the lost records in the transfer process,” he noted.

He urged the National Intelligence Service and the IEBC to be on high alert to ensure they deliver a credible poll.

At the same time, Eldoret North MP William Ruto has expressed concern at low turnout in the ongoing voter registration because of the limited Biometric Voter Registration Kits (BVR).

Ruto said some components of BVR kits were being shared by at least three centres with over 1,000 voters seeking the same services.

“We want the Commission to assess its capacity and assure us that all eligible voters are going to be registered at the end of the exercise,” he said.

He said the Commission is already running out of time and added that it should come up with appropriate strategy to meet the deadline.