These are the four steps Jubilee uses to rig elections Raila Odinga

Opposition chief Raila Odinga has outlined four steps, which he says the Jubilee government plans to use to rig the 2017 General Election.

Addressing supporters at the Kisumu Sports Stadium on Wednesday, January 18, Raila said he has put in place preventive measures to ensure that the August 8 election is not stolen.

The rally attended by Opposition leaders, including Raila Odinga, Kisumu Governor Jack Ranguma, and Kisumu Senator Anyang’ Nyong’o among others, was held to mobilise Kenyans to register as voters ahead of the August polls.

“The battle has just begun and it is going to be a serious one! The government has been relying on rigging to win elections; and rigging starts at voter registration exercise,” Raila said in dholuo.

“They (Jubilee government) ensure that there is chaos in regions which are not their political strongholds, while voting exercise continues in regions politically affiliated to them.”

“During the registration exercise they distribute registration kits inequitably, with regions which are not their political strongholds being allocated fewer facilities. That is their first step in rigging.”

“The second step of rigging is during the date of election – they cause chaos in our political strongholds to discourage people from voting, while people in their backyards are voting in a peaceful environment.”

“The third step includes government rigging out valid election winners during the counting of votes – when the counting exercise is going on, they balloon their figures.”

“The fourth and final step of rigging is during annunciation of the winner – they are declared winners even after losing,” Raila said.

The Opposition leader has sent a strong warning to the Jubilee administration, saying: “This time round, in all these stages we have checks that will ensure they won’t rig the election. We have stationed our officers who will monitor voter registration exercise and elections countrywide, including Rift Valley and Central provinces. Every day we are updated on how many people registered as voters in those regions.”

Raila further faulted Jubilee Members of Parliament for passing the controversial election laws, saying, even so, the law will not “allow them to rig the August 8 General Election.”

“They think manual back-up in the voter electoral system will help them rig elections. I am telling them, no; it won’t be possible!”

No development record

The Opposition leader also criticised the government development agenda saying President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy, William Ruto, are ‘bragging’ about projects that are either not launched by them, or are non-existent. He further castigated the government of condoning runaway corruption.

“These youthful leaders have stolen from the citizens of this nation. We are tired and enough is enough. The cost of living has sky-rocketed, the education system has been compromised, there are no job opportunities for our youth. You hear their leadership say they have connected houses to electricity, they initiated the SGR project. Useless! They call me old, but I am experienced in leadership more than they do,” said the Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) leader.

“The government is chest thumping for preventing theft of national exam, and Fred Matiang’i (Education Cabinet Secretary) is being praised for it. I am asking Matiang’i this question: the children who sat national exams before 2016 and passed, were they also stupid? No! The pattern can’t change that drastically. There was a problem in the marking and annunciation of KCSE results and I want the results investigated. They are ruining the future of our children who are clever and are capable of leading this nation. We have to change that if voted in.”

“We have the ability, the passion and the intent to send Jubilee packing.”

We are not age mates

Raila took a swipe at Deputy President, William Ruto, accusing him of engaging him in exchange of words like he (Raila) were his age mate.

“I am not Ruto’s age mate. This time round I am telling him he will go home whether he likes it or not. I am not his age mate whom he plays with everyday. Our people who went to the other side (government) have returned home. We welcome them,” Raila said while referring to the decamping of ex-TNA Secretary General, Onyango Oloo, who has since joined the Opposition brigade.

Your vote, your tool

Raila urged Kisumu residents to turn out in large numbers to register as voters – a tool he says will contribute immensely in sending Jubilee administration packing.

“Everyone who has attained voting age should register as a voter. Be on the look-out for the citizens who are 18 years and above but have refused to register as voters. When identified, frog march them to voter registration centrers. I urge you not to indulge in excessive drinking to a point you are unable to register as a voter. And to all women, if your partner has not registered as a voter, he should not even come near you,” added Raila.

Raila targets to mobilise 1, 274, 894 citizens with IDs and not yet registered as voters in Nyanza region. IEBC targets to register 854, 179 voters in the same region. The Nyanza region has 2, 236, 428 voters according to IEBC provisional register as at December 31, 2016.

A new campaign by IEBC to register voters kicked off countrywide Monday, January 16 with the electoral body seeking to list six million new voters.

IEBC Chief Executive Officer, Ezra Chiloba, said his team seeks to add six million voters to the 15.9 million already registered.

Some 7,793 biometric voter registration kits will be used during the campaign to be executed at over 24,000 polling centres around the country.

The IEBC has hired over 21,421 staff for the campaign, including 290 registration officers, 290 assistant registration officers, 1,775 voter registration assistants, 2,900 ward-based voter educators, 580 ICT support assistants and 15,586 clerks.

State House spokesman, Manoah Esipisu, said President Uhuru Kenyatta will lead the Jubilee team in rallying Kenyans to register beginning Thursday, January 19.