Kasipul parliamentary aspirant Newton Ogada has called for a repeat of the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party nominations, alleging that last week’s exercise was marred by widespread irregularities and violence.
Speaking in Oyugis Town on Monday, Ogada, who lost to Boyd Were, claimed that the process was neither free nor fair. According to the official results announced by ODM, Were emerged victorious with 18,210 votes, while Ogada came in second with 3,037 votes. However, Ogada dismissed the figures as inflated and inconsistent with the actual voter turnout.
“From what we saw on the ground, those who turned out to vote could not have exceeded 7,000. It is shocking that ODM announced results showing more than 18,000 votes,” Ogada said.
The aspirant further alleged that hired goons stormed polling stations across Kasipul, violently ejecting voters and interfering with the voting process. He accused the perpetrators of marking ballot papers illegally to manipulate the outcome of the exercise.
Several incidents of violence were reported during the primaries, with vehicles damaged and supporters attacked in different parts of the constituency. Ogada blamed the chaos on poor planning and failure by the party to guarantee a secure voting environment.
He urged the ODM leadership to urgently investigate the incidents and take action against those behind the violence and electoral malpractices. Ogada insisted that a repeat of the nomination exercise is the only way to restore fairness and credibility.
“ODM must act decisively and institute reforms to ensure that such irregularities are not repeated in future primaries,” he said.
The Kasipul nominations are among several contentious exercises within ODM, with aspirants in other regions also raising concerns over transparency and accountability in the party’s primaries.
