Travellers were left stranded Sunday after angry mobs barricaded the Ahero-Kisumu Road and engaged police in running battles to protest alleged fraud in ODM primaries for the Kisumu governor and Nyando parliamentary seats. Photo/Tom Otieno
What you need to know:
Political parties’ primaries in parts of the country marred by delays and protests.
Political parties have until 5 p.m Monday to present the lists of their nominees to contest various seats in the March 4, General Election to the electoral commission.
Meanwhile, violence erupted in Kondele, Kisumu town, Sunday after Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s sister, Ruth Adhiambo Odinga, was allegedly declared ODM’s candidate for the governor’s post. Irate voters blocked the Kisumu-Nairobi Road in Ahero.
The party’s primaries in Siaya and Migori had also been marred by violence, leading to delays in conclusion of the exercise whose deadline was midnight on Friday
The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) said it had suspended the controversial nomination of Finance assistant minister Oburu Odinga as the Siaya governor aspirant.
The party Sunday said it had summoned Dr Oburu and rival William Oduol to Nairobi to resolve the standoff.
Dr Oburu, who was earlier reported to have lost the elections, was declared the winner with 62, 232 votes against Mr Oduol’s 35,198 votes, leading to the standoff.
“We have invited the two and we will be listening to their dispute with a view to resolving it before we submit our party list to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). We are also dealing with other disputes,” said the party’s elections board chairman, Franklin Bett, without elaborating further.
Political parties are grappling with various disputes arising from the Thursday and Friday nominations during which protests rocked several parts of the country.
The National Alliance (TNA) chairman Johnson Sakaja said his party was cleaning up its lists for submission to IEBC.
“We have had no major disputes,” he said.
The electoral commission had on Friday allowed parties to resolve any disputes arising out of the chaotic polls by Monday evening.
“All disputes arising from the party nominations must be lodged, heard and concluded within a period of three days from 19th -21st January 2013, said IEBC chairman Isaack Hassan on Thursday while yielding to parties request for extension of time to conclude the exercise.
The Elections Act requires parties fielding candidates in a General Election to submit their lists of nominees to IEBC 45 days to elections (January 18, 2013).
The commission had on Saturday warned that it would not recognise candidates nominated after midnight on Friday.
In a statement, Mr Hassan described the nominations carried out after midnight on Friday as “illegal” and said it will not recognise certificates of such candidates.
“Any person who has not been nominated following the party primaries as at midnight last Friday is disqualified and cannot move to another party for a nomination certificate,” said Mr Hassan in the statement.
IEBC said parties should resolve their disputes through their internal mechanisms and that those which cannot resolve the disagreements can lodge their complaints with the commission by 5 PM on Tuesday.
The Elections Act establishes a Political Parties Tribunal which is in place to handle elections related disputes.
IEBC’s statement followed defections by candidates to other parties after losing in the nominations.
Former Naivasha MP John Mututho, who lost in the TNA primaries, switched to Charity Ngilu’s Narc party where he secured nomination on Saturday morning.
