Raila Odinga’s campaigning team in the Diaspora has asked IEBC to announce final Presidential results at the constituency level, reports the Standard.
The team led by Raila Odinga’s presidential campaign liaison committee co-chair Joseph Nyarango said that announcing Presidential results at the constituency level will promote transparency in the whole process and also curbs rigging.
“It should also be remembered that the tallying of votes at the constituency level will allow Kenyan voters to own the process and witness how their votes are counted rather than leaving the crucial task to the top IEBC officials,” said Nyarango.
“The relaying of final results from constituencies under the supervision of returning officers, agents, the media, internal and external election observers is the most transparent way of managing an election. Any steps to reverse this will be a tragedy to the country,” he added.
He questioned IEBC’s move to challenge a High Court ruling that Presidential results announced at the Constituency would be final.
“We now challenge Wafula Chebukati, the IEBC boss and his team to come clean on their motives for challenging the ruling made by the three judges.”
Bella Akinyi, the NASA secretariat in the diaspora said NASA has a huge following in the diaspora, quoting NJ, PA, MN, WA, NY, MD, and TX as their strongholds. ”One of our strategies is to adopt a poll, and a lot of us from the Diaspora are here in Kenya, and by adopting a poll, that means that some of the irregularities we saw in 2013 where polls were abandoned because people were paid to do so. This time we gonna be sitting there watching the poll” she said.
Fred Osewe, a member of the Raila campaign Diaspora team added: “We want to remind the (IEBC), that the demand by NASA to have the results declared at the 41,000 gazetted polling stations countrywide, as the final results in the presidential election is in tandem with the law and, any move to alter it will be a travesty to democracy and the spirit of free, fair, credible and verifiable election.
Nyarango said that Kenya should follow in the steps of U.S where votes are tallied in polling centers.
“We need to promote this type of system in Kenya because of its authenticity and accuracy. The system will also ensure that returning officers, election observers, and agents are key in safeguarding and upholding a free and fair election,” said Nyarango.
NASA and IEBC have locked horns over the issue after IEBC appealed the High Court ruling seeking a reversal.
