Chilly and rainy weather on Friday delayed the start of UDA grassroots elections in Homa Bay.
The elections took place in all eight constituencies. Some areas failed to get election materials on time.
Areas like Suba South and Suba North experienced delay in the arrival of election materials for at least one hour due to rain.
UDA elections board member Halake Diida, who is overseeing the exercise, said party members in the affected centres would be given extra time to cast their votes.
The party had planned to end voting by 3pm but extended it to 4pm.
The elections are undertaken in 402 centres across the county and the party expects to elect 14,500 people as delegates.
“Election officials have been instructed to extend the exercise by one hour. We want all the eligible voters to participate in the exercise,” Diida said.
Speaking after overseeing distribution of materials at UDA offices in Homa Bay town on Friday, Diida said he got reports of impassable roads, which delayed delivery of materials.
He said they hired boats to deliver materials to islands in Lake Victoria.
“As we speak, we have managed to serve all the stations with all the require election materials. The election exercise is going on smoothly,” Diida said.
Homa Bay is among the first five counties where voting was held. Other are Nairobi, Busia, Narok, West Pokot counties.
Diida said poll officials at the stations were trained a day before the voting.
“We sent them codes used to open and close the tablet," he said.
Diida said 20 people will be elected in every polling centre.
Some of the positions where people have expressed interest include youth, farmers, professionals, traders and special interest categories representatives.
Former Rangwe MP Martin Ogindo said some members failed to get their names in the register. He expressed concerns that this could disfranchise the exercise.
“We have raised the concern with the party elections board to correct the anomalies and look for ways on how to assist them. They should vote as a way of exercising their rights,” Ogindo said.
Earlier on, Grace Buoga complained she did not vote after she failed to get her name in the register.
Buoga said she unsuccessfully went to Homa Bay primary, Asego primary and Lake primary to look for her name.
“I’m disappointed as a UDA party member because I was not able to exercise my right. I was turned away because my name is not in the party register,” Buoga said.
