IN NAIROBI: CORD, JUBILEE IN WAR OF WORDS OVER MAKUENI SENATE BY-ELECTION

CORD leaders Tom Kajwang’, Judith Sijeny and David Musila at Milimani law courts Wednesday. This was after the ruling of a case where Wiper party sought orders to compel IEBC to include Mutula Kilonzo Jnr’s name on the ballot papers for Makueni Senate by-election.  [PHOTO: EVANS HABIL/STANDARD]

By Standard team
KENYA: Controversy raged over Friday’s Makueni Senate by-election after a full day of drama marked by riots over an alleged plot to rig the contest.

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For long hours on Wednesday, parties to the dispute over Wiper candidate Mutula Kilonzo Junior’s exclusion from the printed ballot papers argued the matter during a lengthy closed-door Chamber’s hearing at the High Court.
Late Wednesday evening, High Court judge Richard Mwongo acknowledged that pasting a separate paper with Mutula’s name manually on the ballots was contrary to the electoral rules but preferred to go that way than throwing the country into a constitutional crisis.
Under Article 101(4) (b), the by-election must be held within 90 days from the date the seat held by the late Mutula Kilonzo was declared vacant by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission ( IEBC) following his death on April 27.
The timeline expires on Saturday.
Outside the courtroom, embattled IEBC and the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy ( CORD) pressed their case on separate platforms. IEBC explained why the ballot papers, which are expected in the country today, were printed without the details of the Wiper candidate.
Electoral officials said space had been left on the printed ballots to accommodate the party’s candidate after the High Court ruling on Friday and pleaded for understanding.  IEBC deputy commission secretary in charge of Support Services Wilson Shollei explained how the commission would stick a strip with Kilonzo’s details on the ballot papers.
He said the action would not compromise the poll, explaining the strip to be stuck has security features similar to those on the ballot. “There is no reason for anyone to imagine or think that any candidate will be at a disadvantage. There is no patchwork that will be done as all security features are ingrained,” he told a news conference where he demonstrated how the strip would be stuck.
But as CORD leaders wound up campaigns in Makueni, Kilonzo said he had refused to have stickers bearing his portrait appended on the ballot papers. “I have refused to have ballot papers with stickers of my portrait. If you get such ballot papers don’t accept to use them to vote,” he told a campaign stop.
Sensitive issue
As a pointer to the sensitivity surrounding the issue, IEBC has dispatched a dedicated team of senior officials to Makueni to verify the ballot papers to ensure names of all candidates were represented.