Nasa will use WhatsApp to curb election rigging – Hassan Omar
Election agents of National Super Alliance will be required to take pictures of results announced at all polling centers and forward them to a parallel tallying centre via WhatsApp, a key official has revealed.
Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar insists there is nothing wrong with the opposition setting up a parallel tallying centre in its bid to monitor the results during the August general elections.
“So, what we are looking at it to ensure we have a representative in each of the polling centres countrywide. Since the results announced there are the final according to the law, he will get to take WhatsApp photo and forward the same to our team,” said Mr Omar.
CURB RIGGING
While making his contribution on a political show on national TV on Monday morning, the eloquent politican added that this move is meant to curb rigging.
“We are looking to avoid a Tharaka Nithi scenario, where someone got 96,000 votes in that region, and yet it was announced he got 196,000. There is nothing wrong with having a parallel tallying centre. The media has always had one; S.K Macharia told us the other day he had one,” he said.
The idea of a parallel tallying centre has been opposed by Jubilee.
On Sunday, Cabinet secretaries Mwangi Kiunjuri (Devolution), Eugene Wamalwa (Water), Dan Kazungu (Mining), National Assembly Majority Leader Aden Duale and former Constitution Implementation Commission chairman Charles Nyachae, cautioned their colleagues against this, saying the move is unconstitutional and would not augur well for the country’s peace.
Mr Wamalwa said the Constitution only mandates the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission with the responsibility of monitoring and releasing election results.
“I want to tell Nasa to follow the law,” said Mr Wamalwa at a rally in Kilifi County.
