With just hours remaining before Kenyans head to the polls for the November 27 by-elections, the United Opposition has levelled fresh allegations of a ballot-stuffing scheme reportedly orchestrated by the ruling United Democratic Alliance (UDA).
Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua, Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka and DAP-K’s Eugene Wamalwa addressed a late-evening press conference on Wednesday, November 26, where they claimed to have received intelligence pointing to an elaborate plan to interfere with voting in several competitive constituencies.
The trio alleged that thousands of unserialised and pre-marked ballot papers had been ferried into politically sensitive areas including Malava, Magarini and Mbeere North, all of which are expected to witness tightly contested races between government and opposition candidates. Kalonzo said the coalition believed that the serialisation of more than 820,000 printed ballots had not been done correctly, creating what he described as a loophole for ballot stuffing. He further claimed that about 30,000 pre-marked ballots had already been dispatched to the three regions, including 15,000 to Mbeere North and 10,000 to Malava.
According to the opposition leaders, the alleged scheme involves deploying individuals disguised as polling agents to trigger disturbances at polling stations, after which compromised electoral officials would move quickly to stuff ballot boxes with pre-marked voting papers. They also claimed that IEBC CEO Marjan Hussein Marjan was involved in or aware of the alleged plan, urging the commission to demonstrate independence and reassure the public that the electoral process had not been compromised.
Kalonzo warned that intelligence gathered by the coalition suggested that violence was being prepared as a tool to disrupt the by-elections, calling on the IEBC to confront the challenges decisively. Gachagua added that the United Opposition would deploy its own agents across all battleground constituencies to monitor the voting process closely, instructing their representatives to be thorough in vetting the conduct of IEBC officials to ensure nothing was left to chance.
He also urged the electoral commission to prevent plainclothes armed officers and agents from entering polling stations, alleging that armed individuals could be used to intimidate voters or opposition agents. Gachagua said their agents had been instructed not to allow voting to commence until all individuals present had been properly frisked.
Their allegations came just hours after the National Police Service (NPS) warned politicians against interfering with the by-elections, saying security had been heightened in all 24 areas where voting will take place. The service assured the public that adequate measures had been put in place to maintain order throughout the polling and tallying processes.
Meanwhile, IEBC Chairperson Erastus Edung Ethekon cautioned candidates participating in the by-elections against arriving at tallying centres with large entourages or supporters, warning that such actions could obstruct the electoral process.
