The ongoing United Democratic Alliance (UDA) nominations have faced challenges in a number of counties forcing the elections officials to be inventive in order for the exercise to continue.
In Kakamega County, UDA election officials were forced to move the exercise to a nearby market after the principal of a school assigned as a polling center failed to show up.
Speaking to the press, the officials said the exercise was delayed to begin after the principal failed to show up at the school to open the gates.
“We had hoped to conduct the nominations at the Makunga Secondary School but unfortunately when we went to the school, we found that the school’s principal was not around,” the station’s returning officer said.
He revealed that they were forced to set up a new polling station at a nearby market after their efforts to reach the principal on the phone were futile.
“We were forced to move to this market after we couldn’t reach the principal and the time was also not on our side. Instead of looking around for places, we thought it would be wise to come here (the market) as we look for other alternatives.” He said.
The election official revealed that the voting went on uninterrupted even after moving to the market.
“Otherwise, people who have come here have done a good job and everything is going on as planned. The security officers have also done a good job to ensure everything goes on very well,” he added.
Such logistic issues forced the UDA National Election Board to postpone the nomination in some parts of Kakamega and Mt Elgon to Friday, April 15.
