The Orange Democratic Movement has demanded a free and fair election in the ongoing Bonchari by-election.
The orange party, May 17, demanded transparency from Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission ahead of the mini polls amid claims Jubilee party has been using state machinery to frustrate opponents.
“As a party, we stand for a free, fair, and transparent election. In Bonchari, we demand nothing but just that,” ODM said through a post n social media.
The call comes following claims that IEBC had availed black ballot boxes for election.
ODM party Secretary General on Monday, May 17, raised concerns saying that ballot boxes must not only be open but also transparent.
Sifuna who was speaking outside the IEBC tallying Centre in Suneka said they had witnessed a number of suspicious occurrences just a day to the by-election raising doubts about whether the mini-polls will be free and fair.
“There are a lot of rumors going around regarding the integrity of the process. Some of the ballot boxes transporting voting materials are non-transparent,” he said.
This comes just a week after the Orange party accused the state of a scheme to rig Bonchari Parliamentary by-election in favor of Jubilee candidate Zebedeo Opore.
In a letter by ODM’s executive director, Oduor Ong’wen addressed to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the party protested the alleged use of state agencies to campaign for Jubilee contender.
“We wish to register our complaint with the commission following a series of well-calculated, planned and executed systemic activities by a section of the state’s administrative and security agencies, whose overall import is to adversely influence a free, fair, and democratic electoral process,” the letter read.
Since April when the ODM party declined the Jubilee party’s request to withdraw its candidate from the Bonchari by-election, there have been concerns over the integrity of the mini polls.
The seat fell vacant on February 15 2021 following the demise of MP John Oroo Oyioka who succumbed to a long illness.
