Ruto to run parallel vote tallying centre

“My votes cannot be stolen. I am not the type they can steal votes from. It is not possible,” Dr Ruto told supporters at Holiday Inn Hotel in London.

And speaking in Nyeri, the DP’s allies alleged a plot by the government to use state officers to rig the August 9 elections.

They said the Ministry of Interior had issued a circular to county commissioners and Nyumba Kumi officials countrywide, urging them to form electoral teams that will oversee the elections.

‘Interfere with IEBC’

The United Democratic Alliance (UDA)-affiliated leaders claimed the state was on an outright mission to interfere with the mandate of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

"We want to tell the people at the Interior ministry to retract the letters they have written because they are illegal. They should also remember that IEBC is independent and free from interference," said Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro.

The ministry, he claimed, was intimidating aspirants affiliated to UDA by threatening to have KRA shut their businesses due to tax arrears.

"People have a right to associate with whoever they want," he said.

The legislator said the electoral body was well funded and did not require any input from the Interior ministry.

"We want to tell them that IEBC is well funded and they should stop using it to play their cat and mouse games. You should stop directing IEBC on any issue," he added.

Ford Kenya party leader Moses Wetang’ula claimed the purported teams will be used to carry out “electoral malpractices”.

"We want to warn civil servants that you must not engage in electoral malpractices. We are aware that there is an ongoing mobilisation to make rigging possible. If you are involved in this, be sure that you will be left alone to answer for your mistakes when time comes," he said.

Confident of victory

In the UK, Dr Ruto said he was confident of victory in the presidential poll following by-election wins in Msambweni and Kiambaa constituencies.

Dr Ruto alleged a plot by his opponents to cause violence to create confusion, but pledged to rally his supporters to remain peaceful. He challenged Orange Democratic Movement leader Raila Odinga to publicly state his commitment to concede defeat should he lose the election.

Kakamega Senator Cleophas Malala said their parallel tallying centre will detect any changes in votes during their transmission from polling stations to the election headquarters.

The senator said their network will flag any interference with the transmission of votes on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) transmission system.

“We will be relying on a system we are developing to monitor how IEBC will be transmitting results. It will raise the red flag if there is any anomaly or change of votes from the polling station to the tallying centre. This will enable us to know whether votes are being stolen,” said Mr Malala.

Grassroots network

They are also relying on building a grassroots network to protect votes at the polling station.

“I will not divulge a lot of information on that because it is our strategy but we are building a strong network at the grassroots that is going to ensure we protect our votes,” said the Kakamega senator.

Kimilili MP Didmus Barasa underscored Mr Malala’s sentiments, saying they will guard their votes at the grassroots until the tallying is done.

“Our agents won’t leave the polling centres before, during or after voting. They shall stay throughout, until the tallying is done,” he said.

Azimio la Umoja leaders, however, claimed that Dr Ruto’s team was simply laying the groundwork to reject results.

ODM Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna said the DP has become desperate with his supposed lead diminishing in a matter of months, putting him in a permanent state of confusion “as the presidency becomes a mirage”.

Challenges

Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, however, said their only challenges are some state officials, including Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i and his PS Dr Karanja Kibicho, “trying to interfere with the affairs of IEBC”.

He took issue with a letter reportedly written by Dr Kibicho to administrators, directing them to form multi-sectoral committees on election preparedness.

“They have no business planning or forming such committees. IEBC is an independent commission and must be allowed to exercise its mandate without undue influence or infiltration by idlers,” said Mr Nyoro.

“We have confidence in IEBC and its preparedness. We, however, have a problem with public funds being used by the President and his cronies to campaign for their project,” he added.

Mr Malala also claimed that the county electoral preparedness committees might be used to rig the election. “These committees have county commissioners, the police and other players who have shown affiliation in the current political dynamics. There is conflict of interest among the people handling the process. We want to uphold the independence of our institutions,” he said.

Mr Barasa added: “When we say that some people are planning to rig elections, our statements do not extend to IEBC, but are in reference to what Dr Matiang’i and others have been doing, such as the formation of election preparedness committees. Those are the things we are saying are a precursor to rig elections.

“Their planned rigging began when they wanted to coerce IEBC to use Huduma Namba in registration and administration of elections, which they refused. We are watching all their steps.”

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