LANG’ATA LEADERS PRESS STATEMENT
For immediate release
IEBC SETTING A TIME BOMB FOR ELECTORAL DISPUTES AND VIOLENCE IN LANGATA CONSTITUENCY BY CONDONING MASS IMPORTATION OF VOTERS
Nairobi, Kenya 2nd February 2017:
Ladies and gentlemen of the press, thank you for attending our press conference.
We have called you here today to sound an alarm to the country that within Lang’ata Constituency in Nairobi County, insecure candidates are presently engaging in what can be defined as mass importation, transportation and importation of voters into the constituency. It is a recipe for disaster and have therefore called this press conference to condemn these actions in the strongest possible terms and warn them of any further engagement.
We recall that as part of IEBC’s plan to ensure delivery of a free, fair, transparent and accountable upcoming elections , the IEBC Secretariat publicly pledged that it will maintain order and integrity of the voters roll by stemming mass voter transfers.
Unfortunately, events in Lang’ata Constituency indicate that the IEBC is failing in identifying such malpractice going on in Lang’ata . There is an unprecedented mass voter transfer into Lang’ata Constituency in an on-going conspiracy to *replace the bonafide electorate* at the Constituency IEBC Office. What is even more alarming is that these voters are being sourced, transported, imported and registered along ethnic lines.
Today, the figures we have in Lang’ata sharply contrast with those IEBC is releasing to the public because the importation rate is unusually high and not in sync with local demographics.
As at January 16th, 2017, the total registered number of voters in Lang’ata’s 34 polling stations stood *at 96,698 voters*. Today, although the IEBC does not want to make public its data, our sources within the commission tell us the numbers have now shot up to *134,731 voters*, an extraordinary increase of approximately *39%*.
Deeper probe into the register for Langata reveals that up to *22,782 of the new voter imports* these new voters have already transferred their votes from several polling stations in the Rift Valley Region to specifically Langata Constituency It requires very little detective work to unearth this grave electoral misconduct but the IEBC is unwilling to halt it, but are instead abetting it.
What the IEBC is knowingly perpetuating in Lang’ata is risky and likely to result in polarized electorate, outbreak of violence and may ultimately lead to civil disorder . This is something that we, as leaders of Lang’ata, will not stand-by and watch without taking action.
For the last week, we have recorded busloads of imported voters being ferried into the office daily, money openly exchanging hands, police and IEBC staff being compromised to ensure that these non-residents of Langata are registered to vote in Lang’ata. Our appeals to the District County Commissioner and the IEBC Sub-County Coordinator have been met with consummate denial.
What the mass transfer of voters into Langata mean is that it will dislodge deserving constituents of Langata from choosing leaders who will work for them but rather instil those who are seeking elective positions for ulterior motive unknown to the constituents.
The tragedy of it all is that the importation is being supervised and driven by the IEBC itself together with officials at the Lang’ata sub-county commissioner office and elements within the administration police force.
Such an illegality clearly undermines the will of residents of Langata to fulfil certain
political purposes. We will not allow IEBC to sacrifice the rights of Lang’ata community by silencing the voting voices of the local population which this political process is supposed to benefit.
The IEBC must not allow the perpetrators of this subversion to pre-rig the Lang’ata Constituency election. We wish to categorically state that:-
1 – We are disassociating ourselves from this disenfranchisement of the people of Lang’ata and will call upon them to rise up and defend their right if the IEBC is not willing to immediately end this practice and punishe those culpable culprits.
2 – The Cabinet Secretary for Interior Maj-Gen (Rtd) Joseph Nkaissery shall be held responsible for allowing his officials to conspire with certain candidates to foment civil strife and pre/post-election violence.
3 – We shall permanently station a considerable number of our supporters at all Langata IEBC Constituency Officesto continue monitoring on-going voter fraud in Langata. They will remain vigilant until the end of the MVRII exercise.
4 – We are also warning the owners of public services vehicles and institutional such as Citti Hoppa, Embassava Sacco, and Andalucia Academy, that they should desist from hiring out their vehicles for use to ferry imported voters into Lang’ata. If they continue, let them be warned to meet the risk involved in such an illegality and we shall not be responsible for any damage. We call upon our supporters to desist from any act of violence or destruction, but also continue to stay vigil and not allow such a robbery of their voice to continue.
Signed.
Ahmed Ibrahim Papa
ODM Lang’ata 2017 Parliamentary Aspirant
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