Deputy President William Ruto believes that at least one million voters from his strongholds had been removed from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) voter record. Chief Justice Martha Koome has stepped in.
All activities leading up to election day, including voter registration, voter transfer, verification, certification, and publication of the voter register, should be done in a way that promotes and ensures the entire and accurate franchise of eligible voters, according to Koome.
The Chief Justice also urged the IEBC to address all issues that have arisen as a result of the ongoing process by involving all stakeholders ahead of the August 9 elections.
“It is the IEBC’s proactive approach to addressing issues made by voters and stakeholders that ensures that the IEBC and all Kenyans become agents and champions of electoral integrity, as well as engendering Kenyans’ confidence in the election process,” Koome said.
Her remarks follow Ruto’s accusation that one million voters were removed from the voter rolls, stating that they were all from his strongholds.
It was part of a bigger scheme to rig him out of the presidential race, according to the second in command.
“We want everyone interested, including the EU, to seek as much information as possible from the electoral commission and these public officials about what’s going on and how over a million names vanished from the register.”
“Many of those names come from the area we consider to be our stronghold. During a breakfast meeting at his Karen office yesterday, Ruto told European Union Envoys that it was “clearly an attempt to play some monkey games.”
Ruto’s assertions were refuted by IEBC chairperson Wafula Wanyonyi Chebukati, who noted that the process is still ongoing and that the voter register will be made public in accordance with IEBC regulations.
