MOMBASA, Kenya Apr 10 – The much anticipated ODM Mombasa county party elections went on Saturday in the 30 ward areas despite claims of interference, bribery, delay voting and hooliganism.
At Mombasa Primary School voting centre, anti-riot police officers led by GSU personnel had to be deployed to quell tension pitting two rival groups.
Police had to reinforce security around the polling station after rowdy youth unsuccessfully attempted to disrupt the voting process.
GSU and plain-clothed officers arrived after a brief clash, pitting supporters of six candidates eyeing the ODM party ticket for Mji wa Kale/Kizingo ward.
Voting was also stopped briefly at Allidina Secondary School and Kadarboy in Makadara grounds where police were forced to intervene.
One of the candidates, Abdirahman Husseni called on the party National Election Board to disqualify candidates who caused violence during the nominations.
While accusing his opponents for ganging up against him, Husseni said that such candidates were tainting the party’s image.
“We cannot allow hooliganism to go on in the party, NEB should disqualify such candidates who are out to spoil the party’s good image,” he said.
The Orange party gubernatorial hopeful and businessman, Mr Suleiman Shahbal and senatorial candidate Hisham Mwidau downplayed the sporadic violence and praised the party decision to employ electronic voting process to conduct primaries.
“The election is going smoothly despite technical hitches and violence here and there. I don’t see any reason why the party is not conducting elections for the Governor, Senator and Women representative positions. It doesn’t make any sense for a few people in Nairobi to decide for 2, 500 ODM members in Mombasa,” they added.
Addressing journalists at Tononoka Social Hall, where Shahbal voted, the two politicians warned the party top leadership of staring at a deeper crisis should they issue direct tickets to specific candidates.
“We do not believe nominations should be done selectively in the boardroom based on some opinion polls that cannot be validated. Let the people decide. I keep insisting that it is Wanjiku to decide who should be their leader,” he added.
Shahbal, who is facing off Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir in the race for ODM gubernatorial ticket, said he was confident of clinching the ticket should the party hold a free, fair, credible and verifiable election.
The MCA elections proceeded after aspirants declined to adopt the censuses methodology in a Friday afternoon meeting with the NEB Chairman Richard Tairo and Mombasa ODM chairman Mohammed Hamid Khamis.
Tairo and Khamis told reporters they had met the 160 MCA aspirants with a view of prevailing upon them to pursue the consensus route to defuse cracks within the party and unnecessary tension.
“Our objective is to have everybody on board and that is why we had requested them to agree who among themselves should represent our party in the August election polls,” added Khamis.
On his part, Tairo said the election board is an uninterested party in the nomination process and its core objective is to conduct a process that would yield a positive outcome.
“The board will not be biased or take sides. We are here to encourage our aspirants to talk among themselves and come up with a lineup of individuals who are ready for the task. In any case, if they fail to agree, we are ready and able to conduct the elections,” he stressed.
