NASA defies Nkaissery on 10m vote victory slogan

NASA presidential candidate Raila Odinga at Old Kibera primary school for voter detail verification. [Courtesy]

The Opposition has vowed to defy a State directive to drop the 10 million vote victory slogan.

On Wednesday, Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery and National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) chairman Francis Ole Kaparo directed politicians to stop declaring they would win the August 8 polls by certain numbers.

The two said the rallying calls were setting the stage for violence by supporters who might reject results if the numbers flaunted are not met.

No law

But National Super Alliance (NASA) presidential flag bearer Raila Odinga said no law prevented the Opposition from using the rallying call, and accused NCIC of playing on the Government's side.

"We have no apology to make to anyone. NCIC is a tool of Jubilee. We have not broken any law by saying we have more than 10 million votes," said Raila.

Raila also attacked the Government's measures to reduce food prices. He claimed the subsidised price of maize flour was a political ploy, and that the Jubilee administration was raking in millions from the increased prices of petroleum products.

"Jubilee is giving on one hand and taking with the other hand. This is only a campaign gimmick, in the next two months the prices will shoot up," said Raila.

He made the remarks yesterday after verifying his election registration details at Old Kibera Primary school.

The Opposition leader faulted the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for instructing its clerks to turn away voters seeking to verify their details for failing to have a valid identity cards or passports, saying the Electronic Voter Identification device did not require the two.

Returning officers

"There is no law that requires a person to verify his or her details using an ID or a passport," said Raila.

He said the system should be able to identify details of a registered voter, adding that a person only needed to present their name and allow the device to search.

Raila also questioned the criteria the electoral agency used in picking and deploying the county and constituency returning officers, saying the process was not transparent and inclusive.

"There are instances where officers come from the same area while others have been redeployed. This is unacceptable," he said.

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