Deputy President William Ruto's United Democracy Alliance (UDA) on Wednesday, March 23 held talks with the European Union Exploratory Mission for Election monitoring at the Hustler Centre in Nairobi.
UDA's delegation led by secretary general Veronica Maina met with the EU Democracy and Electoral Observation Policy Officer Mette Bakkan and his team, who are in the country to explore the framework for monitoring the August 9 poll.
The party and the EU officials had discussions centered on the former's preparedness for in-house and the general elections.
"The deliberations centered on preparedness for both the General Elections and the party primaries that the party is preparing to roll out in two weeks' time," UDA's statement read in part
UDA declared that it fully backed the idea of the EU monitoring the election and lauded its move to dispatch a fully-fledged Observer Mission for the course.
"This is a pivotal point that will determine whether Kenya’s democracy progresses or regresses. The Party urged the EU to treat the elections not as an event but rather as a process whose every stage must be monitored and observed," UDA noted
Ruto's party lobbied for the EU and its member states to maintain a strong voice in support of the shared values of democracy, constitutionalism, civil liberties, free press, and credibility of the electoral process.
It further expressed concern over danger signals flagged by Justice Johan Kriegler in his report as a potential risk to a credible, free and fair election including blatant bribery and intimidation.
Among the concerns raised in the report are: the amendment of electoral laws with a year to the election, state capture of independent agencies including the media and civil society, and partisan security agencies.
Also attending the meeting was Ruto's Presidential Campaign Director-General Josephat Nanok, Head of International Relations Ababu Namwamba and the Chair of the party's Election Board, Anthony Mwaura.
During the DPs tour of the United States of America and the United Kingdom, he claimed that there were plans to undermine the integrity of the election. He called on Kenya's foreign friends to intervene to ensure that the country's democracy is not compromised.
