Wiper Democratic Movement Leader Kalonzo Musyoka has told the government
to lease the electoral equipment to be used in next year’s general election.
Kalonzo on Saturday said leasing the devices could cut the expenditure on elections to Sh10 billion and seal loopholes that could be used to perpetrate electoral malpractices.
Speaking in Voi, Kalonzo said hiring the biometric voter registration kits from experienced and respected dealers will be cheaper than buying new ones after every general election and will lock out the possibility of rigging.
“The process of procuring
BVR kits could be unnecessarily lengthy and open to manipulation.
"Rigging begins in the procurement of electoral materials and registration of voters,” Kalonzo said.
He said if the yet to be formed Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission takes longer, it
could not have adequate time to follow the public procurement process in acquiring the devices.
Kalonzo argued that
buying new electoral gadgets every general election is expensive than leasing them when need be.
"Technology is advancing and electrical equipment are getting obsolete very fast. What is the best and latest in technology today could not be useful in next three years", he said
Kalonzo maintained that BVR kits were used to rig elections in the 2013 national polls.
According to him,
failure of the kits at some stations was pre-planned in advance to ensure shambolic elections for manipulations.
Kalonzo has been on a campaign trail in Makueni, Machakos and Taita Taveta counties to consolidate his support base.
Kalonzo is on a tour of the counties to popularize his presidential bid in next year’s elections.
He urged supporters to acquire national IDs and voters’ cards and rally behind him in his second stab at the presidency if his Cord co-principals Moses Wetangula and Raila Odinga supports him.
“You must be ready to take the kicks when I grab the bull by its horns,” he said.
He said he is the coalition’s best choice to unseat president Uhuru Kenyatta and senseless looting of public resources.