Vote tallying stops in Mathare after candidate alleges rigging

Vote tallying at St Teresa Primary School in Mathare, Nairobi County, was halted following rigging claims made by Billian Ojiwa, a UDA candidate seeking the parliamentary seat.

Mr Ojiwa said he raised alarm Wednesday after his agents said they suspected that ballot boxes from Hospital Ward, Ngeil Ward and Huruma Ward were tampered with. 

"Someone was found trying to open the ballot boxes and we have also noticed that some had foreign ballots papers," he told the Nation. 

"The number of ballot papers is not matching what was recorded yesterday. My agents say that they were not shown some of the ballot papers," he added.

Mr Ojiwa is seeking to unseat incumbent Anthony Oluoch of ODM. 

After he raised alarm, IEBC returning officer Lucy Wangari Munyiri briefly left the tallying centre. Upon return, she directed that the ballots suspected to have been tampered with be put aside, adding that she will hold a meeting with election observers and Mr Ojiwa 's agents to resolve the issue.   

Update: Speaking to the Nation, Ms Munyiri confirmed that nine ballot boxes were indeed tampered with.

"I am so shocked that an officer would put the work my entire team has done at risk like this. I have asked all the affected parties to let us put aside the ballot boxes that were tampered with and solve the issue later because we have a deadline to meet," she said.

By press time, vote tallying had resumed.