The Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party has faulted Jubilee government and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) concerning voter registration ahead of the 2017 General Election.
According to ODM the Interior Ministry, the National Registration Bureau and Huduma Centres are discriminating against Cord strongholds in the issuance of National Identification Cards and voter registration.
In a press statement, the Orange Party noted: “We demand an explanation from IEBC why the three institutions are involved in the registration of persons, we warn that this segregationist pattern will certainly have undesired consequences in the days ahead. ODM will reserve the right to respond to those consequences to preserve and safeguard democracy and the right of Kenyans of voting age to register as voters and cast their vote in a free and fair poll.”
ODM Chairman John Mbadi said the government was working with the aforementioned agencies to secretly register voters from their strongholds.
The Opposition demanded to know the role and position of the international community, particularly the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which is known to finance and work closely with the IEBC.
ODM warned of dreadful consequences if the government continues to interfere with the voter registration process. Cord Co-principal Moses Weatngula accused Interior security CS Joseph Nkaissery of using his position to favour Jubilee Party.
“We want to tell the Interior CS that we will impeach him if the trend continues. We will not allow him to use his office to play Jubilee politics,” Wetangula was quoted by the Standard.