PURSUING the case to its logical conclusion is the only sure way of addressing the perennial ballot-stuffing controversy around general elections.
During printing, there is a high possibility of producing excess ballot papers for stuffing to enable Jubilee to achieve its mischievous rigging agenda. The issue must be eliminated at all costs by ensuring transparency, accountability and openness in the whole process of printing ballot papers.
NASA’s push for transparency is unstoppable and that’s why we wanted election results to be declared at the constituency level. From history and from our experience, printing such materials takes a short time.
Four to five days are enough to print 120 million ballot papers, that is a small job to do, a week is more than enough to print and another week to deliver the ballot papers.
It is not our intention to affect or alter the August 8 date of the General Election. Our push for transparency and accountability is being misconstrued by our competitors to imply that we are not interested in the election. Nothing is farther from the truth, it is Jubilee that is hell-bent on have this election delayed by engaging us in a circus.
If Jubilee had kept off the procurement issues at the IEBC and allowed the electoral commission to do its work, we would not have been where we are today. This is a creation of Jubilee that is more than determined to rig this election, which they know very well that they will not win in a free, fair and transparent process.
A free and fair election is not something we can have an option on, it must be ensured.
We have no option, we have no other time, Kenyans have been cheated for far too long, never again. At the cost of anything, fairness must be done, at all costs; we must achieve the correct results. Jubilee can’t get away with it again
as they did in 2013.
Both sides must be reasonable to get a quick resolution out of this so that the election can go on as planned. Let all the stakeholders engage. Jubilee has been found culpable because it influenced the first tender. Going forward, we must partner all the way. Both NASA and Jubilee must be involved in the award of the second tender, if Jubilee has nothing to hide.
Bosire is ODM National Treasurer and Kitutu Masaba MP