Governor Wambora, Mbarire boycott Jubilee Party primaries

Embu County Governor, Martin Wambora, and his arch rival Cecily Mbarire have boycotted the Jubilee Party primaries citing irregularities, delays and lack of adequate voting materials at the polling centers.

The nomination exercise aborted after several aspirants led by Runyenjes MP Cecily Mbarire, who is gunning for the gubernatorial seat, stormed into the Kirimari Boys’ High School tallying Center in Manyatta Constituency, where ballot boxes and papers were yet to be dispatched to polling centers by 10:00 am.

Mbarire who was flanked by Manyatta MP, John Muchiri, Kirimari MCA, Ibrahim Swaleh, and Geoffrey King’an’gi deplored the lack of lids for ballot boxes and claimed that the inadequate ballot papers were being selectively dispatched to the strongholds of the incumbent Governor, Martin Wambora.

On his part, Governor Martin Wambora alleged that there were plans to rig the primaries as evidenced by the massive irregularities that he claimed worked to the advantage of his opponents.

Wambora, who led his supporters in a mass walkout at Kyeni Girls in Runyenjes Constituency, warned election presiding officers to stop voting in any polling center that materials had been dispatched without proper prior arrangements and securing of ballot boxes.

Chaos and confusion characterized the tallying center as supporters of the politicians disrupted the issuance of voting materials and demanded that the exercise be called off until the Jubilee Party was ready to conduct organised nominations.

The leaders unanimously termed the primaries as a sham and regretted having paid nomination fees and recruited polling agents in every polling station, then face an election that was seemingly not credible due to disorganization.

The leaders also demanded an explanation as to why transport to polling centers was not arranged early enough to enable the electorate to commence casting their votes by 6:00 am, yet the party had more than three weeks to prepare for the primaries.