The ODM Party National Elections Board (NEB) has suspended nomination results for the Taita Taveta Gubernatorial race after it emerged that party members in five polling stations in Taveta sub-county did not cast their ballot.
The Board's Chair, Judith Pareno, stated that the primaries in the five polling stations would be conducted on Saturday, April 22.
Provisional results announced on Wednesday evening by the Taita Taveta County Returning Officer, Lawrence Sempele indicated that Wundanyi MP Thomas Mwadeghu was leading Governor John Mruttu.
He further emphasised that the results excluded five polling stations in Taveta sub-county where voting did not take place on Tuesday due to heavy rains, the late arrival of voting material and lack of voting kits.
Mr Sempele further reiterated that the results were provisional and that the final results would be announced once the elections are conducted in the five centres.
"I have not declared any candidate for governor, senator and women representative seats. These are provisional results which can change when voters in [the five polling stations] Taveta cast their votes,” he stated
The incumbent governor in a statement to the press accused the County Election Board (CEB) Secretary of organising a meeting for the board members at the home of one of the aspirants who was also the Secretary's known acquaintance.
Mruttu had agonised over the method used to select the polling stations, claiming that it was suspicious that polling stations with high voter population were left out.
The governor further claimed that the list of Presiding Officers released 24 hours to the nomination day comprised of well-known campaigners of the aforementioned candidate.
He reiterated that the same officials were not available to conduct the process for most of the day in some of the polling stations.
