Thursday, January 17, 2013

Party primaries kick off as IEBC denies delay claims

Written By:KBC Reporters ,    Posted: Thu, Jan 17, 2013

TNA nominations officials’ wait outside Nyeri divisional police station as they wait for nomination election materials
Nominations for various parties kicked off Thursday morning in several parts of the country with allegations of dilatory tactics.
In Narok County, majority of polling stations had not received ballot papers and other materials to facilitate the primaries, a situation that saw the exercise delay for five hours.
In Machakos County, the exercise also delayed by a few hours but ran smoothly. In Nairobi, Dr Evans Kidero who is aspiring for the Nairobi County Governorship post has expressed optimism of clinching the CORD ticket a day after former Starehe MP Magaret Wanjiru opted to run for women representative seat.
Speaking at Pumwani Social hall after casting his vote promised to improve delivery of essential services including security, water supply and environmental conservation.
Bishop Wanjiru's desire to run for the Nairobi Governorship post was brought to a standstill after her degree certificates were declared not genuine.
Meanwhile, former Nairobi town clerk Philip Kisia who is aspiring  to become the first City Governor has defected to Cyrus Jirongo's Federal party Of Kenya which is affiliated the Coalition of Reforms and Democracy- CORD.
'Unforseen challenges'
Meanwhile, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has exonerated itself from blame following the delays in the nationwide party nomination exercise.
In a statement, IEBC clarified to the general public that it is not the body handling the nomination exercise and that the exercise is being handled by the political parties themselves.
"We wish to inform members of the public that the on-going elections are being conducted by the parties and not IEBC"
The statement follows remarks from members of the public that the commission was delaying the exercise.
IEBC in a statement clarified that it is only monitoring the nominations exercise to ensure compliance.
"IEBC is only monitoring to ensure compliance. Elections pose a lot of unforseen operational challenges and we call upon calmness and patience as the parties sort out their logistics."
Communications manager Tabitha Mutemi however asked the political parties to sort out their logistical problems to ensure a smooth process. She further asked member of the public for calmness as their parties sort out the problem. 
And with the nomination exercise underway in most parts of the country, the International Rescue Committee, through the Peace Initiative Kenya, has called on all political parties, their supporters and the wider Kenyan community to uphold peace and shun violence during the exercise. 
In a statement Thursday, the committee said there have been cases of violence already reported in some polling stations today as a result of delays in starting the exercise.
"The past few months have seen a rise in violence and conflict, particularly against women and girls. Women, who have a constitutional right to claim at least a third of the elective post at the polls seem to have once again been pushed to the periphery. We urge all actors to uphold the rule of law and promote peace for the good of Kenya especially women and girls," said Jebiwot Sumbeiywo, PIK's Program Manager.  
It called upon political parties to adhere to principles of the electoral code of conduct (2011) including:  promotion of gender equality; promotion of ethnic tolerance; condemnation and avoidance of violence and taking steps to prevent intimidation during the forthcoming polls.
"The politicians from both sides of the divide must exercise restraint and avoid using the youth to perpetrate violence and crime if peace is to prevail in the forthcoming polls," warned Sumbeiywo.
The committee said holding mature, peaceful elections under a new constitution will send the right message to the world that it is after all possible to go to the polls and emerge a united nation.
Disappointed-lot
Naivasha and gilgil are regarded as TNA strongholds. However in the party nominations that are currently on going, voters who turned up in large numbers in to vote in different polling stations were forced to wait for five hours in spite of turning up to vote by 6 am, the official time TNA had set for the opening of the party's nomination exercise in the polling stations.
They cited constituencies after the much. Confusion and finger pointing was the order of the day as  hundreds of flower farm workers who had turned early left a disappointed-lot after it emerged that the exercise could be delayed.
Some aspirants in the area raised fears that the delays could affect the nominations outcome
Security was heightened in the two towns and the 67 polling stations.
Speaking on phone, TNA election coordinator in Naivasha Reverend Cosmas Kinyanjui the party was still waiting for the arrival of the nominations materials. ODM however is not conducting its nominations into the two constituencies.
In Kasarani area of Nairobi the same logistical challenges were experienced by both political parties.
Most voters who have been waiting since the early morning expressed disapproval over the delays that have not been explained by the respective party officials.
At Baba Dogo polling center in Kasarani area, many voters who had hoped to cast their votes and go back to attend to their daily chores are now a dejected lot.
Voters from both the CORD and Jubilee have expressed apprehension over the delays to the start of the voting exercise. Most insisted it could be a way of introducing a kind of rigging.
It will be a long time coming before various parties put their act together and get the voting exercise in progress.
The primaries in parts of North Eastern were without a challenge as several outgoing members of parliament and new aspirants vying for various positions in   Wajir, County Mandera, County and Garissa county were spared the nomination headache after there were no opponents to challenge them in the primaries.
The aspirants   including former deputy speaker Farah Maalim and Defence minister Mohamed Yussuf Haji, are unopposed in the respective parties nomination.
Hajj is seeking the senatorial position on a TNA ticket unchallenged, while CORD has outgoing Deputy Speaker Farah Maalim who is unopposed for the alliance ticket.
Former administrator Ali Korane is seeking the TNA ticket for the gubernatorial seat, Harun Yusuf is unchallenged under the ODM ticket, Nathif Jama is wiper's candidate while Moulid Shurie has the UDF ticket unopposed, immediate former MP Adan Dualle has teh URP ticket for the parliamentary seat unopposed.
Machakos County encountered delays early this morning lasting almost three hours. The exercise only kicked off at 8:00AM when polling centers in different areas were opened.
Nominations are currently ongoing peacefully without any incidents reported. The County has in the recent past seen a wave of rough politics from different groups affiliated to factions of parties in the region. However security has been beefed up in different parts of the region to ensure the process is carried out smooth and fairly.
The region which is Wiper party's turf will see aspirants cement their nominations against the rest of the parties. The Nomination exercise is expected to end today with the IEBC setting the deadline to submit papers for the 18th of this month.

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