UDA Grassroots Leaders /FILE
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) has set August 15 as the date for its grassroots elections in Tana River after postponing the exercise to allow more members to register and participate in the party's electoral process.
In a statement on Wednesday, the party said the elections will be conducted between 8 am and 5 pm across all polling centres in the county.
UDA said the fresh exercise follows an earlier rescheduling that was intended to expand participation by giving members additional time to complete registration before casting their votes.
"The exercise follows the earlier rescheduling to allow more Party members time to register and participate in the electoral process, further strengthening inclusivity and grassroots democracy," the party said.
The announcement came after a consultative meeting involving elected and nominated leaders, grassroots representatives and the party's National Elections Board (NEB) to finalise the modalities for the polls.
The meeting was chaired by National Elections Board chairperson Anthony Mwaura and also brought together members of the board, Director of Finance and Administration Joseph Mulili and Director of Communication Nathaniel Mong'are.
According to the party, members will elect 20 officials in every polling centre to represent different interest groups within the party structure.
The positions include three representatives of farmers, four representatives of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), three representatives of professionals, four youth representatives, two general members, three religious representatives and one representative of Special Interest Groups (SIG).
UDA said the elections are part of its efforts to strengthen grassroots leadership and ensure representation of different constituencies within the party at the polling centre level.
Once the exercise is completed, the party expects to have elected a total of 7,320 grassroots officials across Tana River County.
The officials will represent the party's rank and file and form part of its grassroots leadership structure in the county.
The party said preparations for the exercise are underway following the agreement reached during the consultative meeting, with the National Elections Board expected to oversee the elections.
UDA has in recent months been conducting grassroots
elections in different parts of the country as part of its ongoing internal
party organisation and leadership renewal programme.
The Tana River exercise is expected to complete the election
of thousands of officials who will represent various sectors and interest
groups within the party while supporting its grassroots structures across the
county.
