Confusion mars ODM's Kisumu North primaries
A resident of Kisumu North Ward votes at Bar Union Primary School during during ODM Primaries on October 3, 2020.
What you need to know:
- The seat fell vacant after MCA Elisha Oraro resigned following his unanimous election as Kisumu County Assembly Speaker on January 24.
- The five people battling for the ODM ticket are Thomas Kotieno, Ramadhan Bilali, Samuel Dede, former MCA Caroline Owen and former councilor Bernard Muga Obewa.
Confusion marred ODM’s Kisumu North primaries on Saturday after the returning officer went missing and could not be reached on phone.
Hours later, National Elections Board chairperson Catherine Mumma said the officer was found safe in a hotel, preparing for the exercise.
“I assure all adherents that everything is intact and that the primaries will be conducted in a transparent and efficient manner,” she said during a tour of Bar Union Primary School.
The seat fell vacant after MCA Elisha Oraro resigned following his unanimous election as Kisumu County Assembly Speaker on January 24.
He replaced Onyango Oloo who faced a corruption case in relation to a mall by the Lake Basin Development Authority, which he previously served as chairman.
IEBC has scheduled the by-election for December 15, alongside similar exercises in Msambweni and several other wards.
Voting delayed
Voting was to start at 6am but Ms Mumma said it kicked off at 8am as aspirants, presiding officers and security officers had to be briefed first.
“We also had to freshly recruit two presiding officers after the people who were appointed failed to show up at the last minute,” she said.
“The board will ensure the people who started voting late are compensated so that no one gets an undue advantage,” she added.
Some voters found their names missing from the register but Ms Mumma said only the listed ones would participate.
“Other than being registered as a voter by IEBC, one has to be registered as a member of ODM to ensure [the exercise] is not infiltrated by strangers working for our opponents,” she said.
She said they were relying on a backup team in Nairobi to check the status of people whose names were not in the register.
The five people vying for the ODM ticket are Thomas Kotieno, Ramadhan Bilali, Samuel Dede, former MCA Caroline Owen and former councilor Bernard Muga Obewa.
The winner of the Saturday vote will face off with Ken Ogada of Ford -enya and businessman John Ouko of Amani National Congress.
The ward has 16,000 voters registered at 15 polling stations.
