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How Raila’s votes were reduced – witness


Votes meant for Nasa flagbearer Raila Odinga were systematically reduced in various polling stations across the country to lower his final score, a key witness in his petition against President Uhuru Kenyatta’s victory says.

Mr Odinga’s presidential petition will rely heavily on the supporting affidavit by medical doctor Nyangusi Oduwo, the economic advisor to Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho, who scrutinised 5,000 Forms 34A used to tally the final results in the August 8 election.

Dr Oduwo was tasked to examine the forms supplied by presiding officers to Mr Odinga’s agents across the country, and to compare the same with the Form 34Bs supplied by the commission and Form 34As posted on the commission’s website.

“We got 32,000 Form 34As out of which I examined a total of 25,000 forms. After scrutinising them, I found grave anomalies in 14,078 forms,” he says in the affidavit filed at the Supreme Court.

DON’T TALLY

Among the anomalies he alleges are that some Form 34As do not bear the commission’s official stamp, some are not signed by the presiding officers and deputy presiding officers as required by law while in some instances, results in the forms do not tally mathematically while in some cases the forms do not bear names or signatures of party agents – and without reasons from presiding officers.

Dr Oduwo’s scrutiny further revealed that some presiding officers signed for more than one polling station, some Form 34As were either signed by ungazetted presiding officers or were from ungazetted polling stations, while some were unclear and/or illegible.

He further alleges that in many polling stations within central Kenya and Rift Valley regions, Nasa candidate’s legitimate agents were chased away from the stations and replaced by imposters who were caused to create fictitious names and sign blank Form 34As.

Thereafter, the presiding officers were made to fill in such fictitious results as they desired in favour of President Kenyatta.

Dr Oduwo states that 11,481 Form 34As out of the total 25,000 he scrutinised bear no stamp as required by law.

NULLIFY BALLOTS

He wants the court to nullify such ballots arguing that on August 5, the IEBC CEO Ezra Chiloba had issued a directive invalidating any ballot paper that was not stamped and directing that the same will be marked as rejected.

“Logically, and as by law provided, any result contained in a prescribed Form 34A, which does not bear a stamp of the presiding officer, must therefore be treated as equally invalid,” Dr Oduwo says in the affidavit.

In Kipkelion West Constituency, in particular Kipkelion primary polling centre, the Form 34A shows that Mr Odinga got 64 votes while the Form 34B indicates 61 votes.

In Bar Siele, Form 34A shows President Kenyatta obtained 268 votes while Form 34B shows 269; no handing over or taking over notes were posted for the forms.

He further notes that form 34As in respect of Kipsigei Primary School, Simotwet Primary School, Kaula Nursery School, Kimologit Primary School, Lelechwet Primary School, Siret primary School, Kapkese Primary School, Kaplelit Primary School, Murgut Primary School, Chilchila
Primary School, Bararget Cooperative, Tunnel primary School, Boror Nursery School, Koisagat Primary School, Smolel Primary School, Magire Primary School, and Cheborus Nursery School do not bear the commission’s stamp.

He alleges that form 34As submitted by Mr Odinga’s agent in respect of Memba Primary School Polling Station, West Asembo Ward, the former Prime Minister got 437, but form 34B showed he got only 17 votes.

In Kilome Constituency, Mr Oduwo says the original IEBC Form 34B does not match Form 34B uploaded in the Commission’s portal.
In this instance, the total valid votes in the original Form 34B is 38,269 while the downloaded Form 34B has 33,757 and therefore creating a variance of 4,512 votes.

UNACCOUNTED VOTES

In Igembe South, the summation of total votes in Forms 34As comes to 41,834; and yet according to Form 34B in the Commission’s portal, the total votes for President Kenyatta is 43,209, meaning that 1,375 votes cannot be accounted for.

He further alleges that Form 34A in respect of Rabai Road Primary School Polling Station, Harambee Ward, Makadara Constituency, indicates that the total number of valid votes cast is 482, with President Kenyatta garnering 133.

However, Form 34B in the Commission’s portal indicates that the Jubilee candidate has 587 votes and the total valid votes cast are 1,873, which surpass the total number of registered voters legally required in a Polling Station.