Kenya: Odinga Says No Manual Register, No Elections

Opposition chief Raila Odinga.

Nairobi — Azimio La Umoja One Kenya presidential candidate Raila Odinga has issued a new ultimatum to the electoral commission, saying there will be no elections unless the manual register is used.

Odinga said failure to use a manual register along with the electronic register will be a recipe for vote fraud, while accusing his main competitor Deputy President William Ruto of hatching a plot to rig elections.

"I am telling the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission that a manual register is a must in each and every polling station," Odinga said Wednesday during campaigns in Githunguri, Kiambu County.

And he declared "it is not negotiable, a manual register is a must along with the electronic register, otherwise No manual register, no elections."

But his competitor Ruto of who is vying under the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party ticket has rejected the use of a manual register, saying he agrees with IEBC to only deploy an electronic register.

"My competitor has sensed defeat and that is why he is now talking of a plot to rig elections," Ruto said, "We oppose the use of a manual register."

Odinga has claimed Ruto and his allies are planning to sneak in pre-marked ballot papers.

"We know what they are up to," Raila said, "They want to sneak in pre-marked ballot papers in about 10,000 polling stations so as to get some 2 million votes."

Raila's key ally Junet Mohamed has also claimed that Ruto's principal in the Kenya Kwanza Alliance, Senator Moses Wetangula is working with the Greek firm awarded the tender to print ballot papers.

"We know and we have evidence on what they are doing," Junet said, "it will not happen because they want to rig the election through collusion with the ballot papers printing company."

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