ODM Party leader Raila Odinga has now accused the government of denying Chiefs in Nyanza, Western, the Coast and other regions perceived to be Opposition-leaning fuel and travel allowances.
According to Odinga, this is a ploy by the Jubilee administration to ensure Identification Cards (IDs) of his supporters are not delivered on time.
“The party notes with concern that the directive by President Uhuru Kenyatta that national identity cards be issued to all Kenyans within three days of application is not being applied universally.
“We have noted that chiefs in Nyanza, Western, the Coast and other regions perceived to be Opposition-leaning are being denied the basics like fuel and travel allowances that they need to implement the order by the President,” Odinga stated sent out on Saturday.
The former Prime Minister further stated that registration offices in areas perceived to be his strongholds, including Huduma centres, are permanently lacking the documents they need to facilitate registration persons.
He further accused Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery of intimidation and issuing illegal orders to the Chiefs not facilitate registration in perceived Opposition zones.
“This is an attempt at advance rigging of the August polls. We put the minister on notice that we take his threat to the chiefs and its visible consequences and that he must be prepared to bear its consequences in the fullness of time,” Odinga warned.
In the statement, the former Prime Minister also put the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on notice over what he termed as the electoral body's "complacency and silence on the matters being raised by the Opposition with regard to the voter registration".
"The IEBC is loud in silence over open interference in the voter registration exercise by the Interior Ministry, the campaign of hate and incitement in some vernacular radio stations and the preferential implementation of the order on issuance of identity cards. We remind the IEBC that it has the sole mandate to ensure all Kenyans of voting age are registered to vote," the statement read in part.
Odinga added: "We reserve the right to interpret the IEB’s silence as complicity in the conspiracy to rig elections in favour of Jubilee".
