Commentary By Leo Odera Omolo In Homa-Bay Town.
So they say in legal terms that justice delayed is justice denied. This I may add by coining another word that “the voting delayed is a denial of democratic rights of the electorate.”
The last Sunday ODM preliminary nomination in the just concluded, but much flawed Ndhiwa by-election was a total sham, and a big shame to the party that has always been boasting of championing the essence of he democratic principles in this country.
Thousands of the constituents who turned out in their big numbers to vote for a candidate of their choice were badly let down by poor management of the by-election, poor logistics and the disappearance of election material, non-arrival of ballot papers at the poling stations, which are scattered all over the expansive rural constituency.
It is even shameful to say that the distance between Ndhiwa Town and Ratang’a, which is the late Joshua Orwa Ojode’s rural home is hardly seven kilometers apart. The two centers are linked by the Rodi-Sori road which is beautifully tarmac ked and could take hardly ten minutes drive. The election materials and ballot papers from Ndhjiwa Town arrived at Ratang’a at about 4.15 p.m long after the would be voters had dispersed and went home after waiting for the election materials from as early a 7.a.m. What a mess?
Owing to the logistics problems experienced all over Ndhiwa only 7,278 voters managed to cast their votes in a constituency which boasts close to 80,000 registered voters. The voters had turned out o enthusiastically read to exercise their democratic rights in voting in their new MP.
They sang and danced at the various polling station, but in some places waited for the whole day without the election officials on sight. This later was to become the source of fist fights and mayhem that were witnessed at the various stations. The voters had become impotent and suspicious that their preferable candidates were about to be rigged out of the race after waiting for the whole day without seeing the election materials.
It was a total flop, and its time the ODM electoral board headed by Eng.Philip Okoth Okundi and its entire directors were shown the exit door by the party headquarters at the Orange House in Nairobi.
Alternatively, political parties which cannot organize and manage their own preliminaries be compelled to seek assistance and help from the IEBC.
The story has been the same ever since 2007showing clear proof that the ODM is incapable of of organizing an efficient and peaceful preliminaries on its own in the by-elections that have come and gone. This is perhaps the reason why the party which is led by he Prime Minister Raila Amolo Odinga has lost in nearly all the by-elections it had participated ever since 2007 starting with the one which was held in Ainamoi in Kericho district following the death of the former MP for the area the late David Too who was shot and killed by a policeman in Eldoret .
In all the previous by-elections held countrywide in the recent past the ODM had lost due to its haphazardly and inefficiently managed by-election which have ended with numerous complaints by participants of highly rigged by-elections. Ndhiwa should serve as the shining example. There was no logistic problem in the area. All the access and feeder roads are passable and in good condition wit one major highway traversing the entire constituency from Rodi-Kopany in the neighboring Rangwe constituency in Homa-Bay district winding up at Sori in Karungu Bay in Nyatike constituency.
The election s official were nowhere raising temperature of the voters who set upon those few officials who showed up late, but half-heartedly with kicks and other crude weapons almost marred the exercise following the outbreak of sporadic of fist fighting everywhere The ODM is to be blamed.
The worse part of the exercise is the unconfirmed claims and allegation to the effect that Agustino Neto Oyugi, the youthful politician who emerged the winner of the much flawed nomination has been working as the campaign manager of Eng Phillip Okundi, the chairman of the ODM election board who is also currently campaigning for the coveted position Homa-Bay County governor.
The 12 hours delay in announcing the outcome of the preliminary nomination exercise where Neto was reported to have garnered 4,278 votes, while the 21 other aspirants received a combined figures of 3,000 votes has escalated the suspicious that the winner might have been rigged in by a plan hatched by the board chairman. There was no indication as to who was number two, number three and so forth.
Taking into account the allegation that the winner is closely connected to Okundi, there is all the significant aspect of conspiracy to deprive the Ndhiwa electorate of their constitutional rights of picking up a popular Mp of their own choice. And justice can only be seen as being done, if the could issue an orders for the repeat of Ndhiwa by-election. Such irregularities like those witnessed in Ndhiwa last Sunday could hurt the ODM successes in the impending general election schedule for Mach 3, 2013 and even impact negatively on Raila Odinga’s presidential bid.
Ndhiwa by-election preliminary nomination is a clear mockery of the tenets of democracy and must be declared null and void in the interest of democracy
Other aspirants had their names missing from the ballot papers in as many as in twenty polling stations. What a mess. One Jeremiah Owiti who is known to his peers as “Jero” had his name missing from ballot papers in nearly every polling station.
In all fairness, the ODM headquarters must order for the repeat of the Ndhiwa preliminary nomination exercise
Ends