Mombasa County Wiper Party Coordinator Afiya Rama (left) during a past event. She has asked the party leadership to address the anomalies in the party register. [Photo/ coastweek.com]
A group of Wiper Democratic Party aspirants in Mombasa County have expressed fears that the forthcoming party primaries would not be free and fair.
The aspirants claimed that the party list they were issued with ahead of the Tuesday nomination exercise had anomalies, adding that some of the aspirants names were missing from the party register.
“We are now unsure of what to do because we don’t believe there will be free and fair nominations in Wiper Party within Mombasa,” said Afiya Rama who is eying the Mombasa Women Representative seat.
Rama who is also the party’s Mombasa County Coordinator questioned why the party wanted to use the 2012 register yet members and other officials registered a large number of new members recently.
She said the move has sparked fears among aspirants and asked the head office to come clear on the issue.
"Many of the people in the old register have died, others have moved to other parties while some have left Mombasa all together to other towns,” she said.
Michael Kituku who is eying the Shimanzi Ward in Mvita constituency claimed the impending party polls would not be free, fair and transparent and asked the national secretariat to allow the use of national identity cards, arguing that the 2012 register would not be reliable.
Ziporah Katungi, the Wiper women democrats secretary in Mombasa joined the fray and warned that women voters would keep off the exercise if the anomaly was not rectified in time.
“My name is missing in the register brought from Nairobi and so many other people face the same predicament. We want the use of ID cards allowed,” she said.
Patrick Mulei, who is also an MCA aspirant said he was shocked to find his name missing and asked the party secretary general and Mombasa Senator Hassan Omar not to interfer in the nomination exercise.