ODM aspirants in Kwale reject nomination results

ODM primaries that were conducted on Monday digitally to build trust and foster a stronger party have caused more divisions in Kwale county.

Some members are crying foul, claiming they were rigged out. 

Most of those who participated in the primaries have vowed to contest as independent aspirants.

Two politicians who battled for Msambweni MP seat ticket on Wednesday ditched ODM.

Charles Bambo Bilal, who garnered 255 votes in the primaries, was the first to dispute the results and express his frustration with the party.

Bilal alleged that the exercise was marred by dishonesty, saying his votes were stolen.

"I won in the nominations but my votes were transferred to someone else," he said.

Bilal said he was the most popular aspirant and there was no way he could have lost.

The ticket was won by Ali Hassan Mwakulonda who got 1,155 votes against his closest challenger, Sheikh Mahmoud Abdulrahman (967) followed by Sharlet Akinyi (653).

Bilal said he opted to resign from the party because of what he termed "lack of transparency".

He spoke in Ukunda while briefing the media about his next move.

Bilal, however, said he is still in talks with political parties before making a decision.

Abdulrahman also faulted the results, saying the exercise was manipulated.

The politician said he could have won if fairness prevailed.

He said the party has been hijacked by self-centred individuals whose intention is to cause turmoil.

Abdulrahman said the results should be nullified because the process lacked equality and fairness.

He said in some areas people voted more than twice and the system could not detect the error.

"Normally, there is an ink for every voter to apply after voting but the majority of the polling stations had none, meaning one can go there several times and vote," he said.

Abdulrahman said agents did not approve the results and could not tell how many votes their aspirants got at a particular station.

During the nomination, Kwale ODM vice chairperson Shaban Luchesi raised the issue with the authorities that the gadgets were not effective.

Luchesi reported that many people had voted several times and other aspirants were not in the system.

But county ODM organising secretary James Nyakiti said the issue was taken into consideration and rectified on time.

He said each aspirant was given an equal opportunity to exercise their democratic rights.

Nyakiti said they decided to go digital to curb rigging and enhance effectiveness.

"We wanted to avoid a scenario where people would come with fake ballot papers as it has been the norm in previous primaries," he said. 

The tablets required a voter to key in their ID numbers and the gadgets display the aspirants allowing a person to choose.

But the technology was not embraced by all, with many preferring the manual method.

Voter Quinter Akinyi said the new voting system is great but most factors were not considered.

Akinyi said things like the safety and retrieval of the data were not assured.

During the counting at the Msambweni main tallying centre, various aspirants and supporters doubted the results.

They complained of bias and inefficiency of the tablets in conducting credible nominations.

Coast ODM regional commissioner at the National Election Board Richard Kairo assured supporters and aspirants that the exercise was free and fair.

Kairo said anyone who feels aggrieved should submit complaints to the NEB and file an appeal.

He said there is room for consensus and that members should work together to strengthen the party.

(Edited by Tabnacha O)