Sonko almost barred from voting after his name is found ‘missing’ in party register
Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko has claimed that his supporters had been barred from voting yet they are registered voters.
Sonko at the same time said he was almost barred from voting at Bidii Primary School as his name was missing from the party register but the station’s presiding officer intervened.
“The same way I have been allowed to vote I expect them to allow my supporters to vote as well and not apply the rule selectively which is mostly happening in my strongholds,” said Sonko in a press briefing shortly after voting.
The senator said he had visited over 100 polling stations in his stronghold and realised the clerks were turning away his supporters whose names were missing in the register.
He said the party should allow the use of the IEBC register as well.
PARTY REGISTER
“I was almost denied myself but I thank the presiding officer for quick understanding. If they rig me here I still have to go to the ballot,” he said.
The Jubilee Party however said after consultations and credible information that voting in Nairobi would be infiltrated it resorts to the use of the party register alone.
This even as the Jubilee Party National Elections board Chair Andrew Musangi said it would only use the party register in the Nairobi polling stations.
“This is a very cosmopolitan county obviously it hosts the capital, it hosts Kenyans from every corner of our republic and it hosts Kenyans with diverse political affiliations. And in the circumstances we have currently instructed our presiding officers in Nairobi given the real and present danger of such infiltration to subvert the will of Nairobi voters to use our party register until and unless any other advice comes from the Jubilee headquarters,” said NEB Chair Musangi.
He added that the decision was made after high level consultations within the party to prevent infiltration.
