Raila opposes ballot tender awarded to Dubai firm

Raila opposes ballot tender awarded to Dubai firm

The opposition National Super Alliance (NASA) presidential candidate Raila Odinga now wants the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to cancel the ballot printing tender awarded to Al Ghurair Printing and Publishing Company based in Dubai.

Reading mischief in the re-awarding of the Ksh2.5 billion-tender to the Dubai firm, the NASA chief claimed that owners of the firm are close to Jubilee administration’s top officials and are likely to influence the outcome of the August 8, 2017 polls to President Uhuru Kenyatta’s favor.

“The decision to award the Dubai firm was arrived at three years ago and we, Kenyans, have been cheated to believe that the process has been taking place in recent months. We have information that the firm has been in contact with senior Jubilee officials and owners of the firm hosted them in Dubai last year,” said the Orange Democratic Party leader Odinga.

NASA now wants the Wafula Chebukati-led commission to cancel the tender and start the procurement process afresh even after Parliament on Tuesday approved Sh2.5b for IEBC to pay for the ballot papers printing tender.

“As NASA our stand is that the involvement of this firm will compromise the credibility of the elections. It is not too late for IEBC to do the right thing for the sake of the country by starting the process of awarding tender to other firms afresh,” added the ODM party leader.

Jubilee, through President Kenyatta, who was speaking in Eldoret State Lodge on Tuesday morning, dismissed NASA’s claims, saying that the opposition is threatening the electoral agency which should be left to act independently.

“Any attack against the IEBC is an attack upon an important pillar that is a guardian of our democracy,” said the Head of State.

Further, President Kenyatta said that he is ready to hand over power peacefully if defeated in the upcoming polls and urged the opposition to declare publicly that they would concede if they lose in the General Election as he did in 2002 after being swept by the National Rainbow Coalition wave.

Additional Reporting by Majanga Michael

Tags:

IEBC raila odinga JUBILEE President Uhuru Kenyatta NASA jubilee administration Wafula Chebukati NASA presidential flag bearer

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