Sick child at Magarini polling station who sparked emotions on voting day
Voters queue to cast their ballot in the Magarini by-elections.
When Mariam Abdalla turned up at the Mambrui polling station in Magarini constituency, Kilifi County, holding her 14-year-old daughter by the arms, many were left wondering what motivated her to do so.
For Mariam, the small margin in the last General Election, where ODM candidate Harrison Kombe won by only 21 votes, after garnering 11,946 against his close UDA party rival Stanley Kenga's 11,925, made her sacrifice in order to vote. In the Thursday by-election, Mr Kombe was defending the seat on ODM while Mr Kenga had defected to DCP.
"What if today's margin is small? My vote will make a difference. I was going to hospital, about 10 kilometres away, and I knew it might be a long time before I returned, that is why I came here with my sick daughter," said Ms Mariam.
A section of the public openly criticised her, saying she should not have brought her daughter to the voting centre before getting medication. She dismissed them.
"Voting comes once and I had no one to help me take my daughter to hospital. I have voted and my daughter will now have medication once I reach the hospital," said Ms Mariam.
When she arrived, many were shocked as her daughter was visibly in severe pain, prompting a well-wisher to volunteer a vehicle to take the girl to hospital.
Mr Yusuf Abubakar, a lawyer and one of the observers, defended the woman's move, saying both the right to life and the right to vote are equal in the Constitution of Kenya and that no one should despise her.
"The daughter was really in pain as you can see how she was being held on her arms but at the same time, the mother has a right to vote since as she has explained, her vote might make a difference from tomorrow by getting better medication, good roads and other basic needs," said Mr Abubakar.
More time
As voting came to an end at 5 pm, the ODM asked the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to extend time in seven polling centres that experienced delays during opening.
"All polling centres opened on time except seven whose Kiems kit had issues. We have asked the electoral body to extend same time lost in the morning," said ODM deputy party leader and Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir.
He also clarified that the morning issues raised by Mr Kombe regarding agents had been resolved. Mr Kombe had complained that his agents were denied entry into polling stations and instead, there were agents appointed by his ODM party.
"On issues of agents which were raised by our candidate in the morning, we have talked to him and addressed the matter. After that, we haven't had any issues," said Mr Nassir.
Polling stations in Magarini adhered to the set voting timelines and closed on time. Only those which had experienced delays of about five to 10 minutes had the same period extended as requested by political parties.
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