Chaos, ghosts of unfair polls characterise campaigns ahead of by-elections

Even before the official whistle for the by-elections has been blown by IEBC, the mini-poll campaigns have been marred by chaos, allegations of voter bribery and suppression, further heralding the spectre of an unfair exercise come Wednesday.

Whereas the government has assured of massive police deployments on the D-day to curb any political intemperance, the opposition has spoken of a plan to rig the by-elections across the country through the use of hired goons to invade polling stations and the use of the 2017 voter register—a development that has put the role of institutions such as the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), the polls agency and the police into sharp focus.

Pundits also observe that as IEBC faces its first litmus test, the success or failure of the 24 by-elections will reflect on the strength or lack thereof of the Erastus Ethekon-led team ahead of the bigger 2027 polls.

In Magarini, Malava and Mbeere North constituencies, the by-elections have exploded into a national showdown pitting President William Ruto, leader of the broad-based government, and former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, the face of the united opposition, with both seeking political bragging rights.

The duel for Mbeere North will see UDA’s Leo Wamuthende facing off with Democratic Party’s Newton Karish, as Democratic Citizen Party’s (DCP) Stanley Kenga and ODM’s Harrison Kombe battle it out for the Magarini post. In Malava, DAP-K’s Seth Panyako has the arduous task of fighting off UDA’s David Ndakwa, who enjoys the full support of his party leader President Ruto and his aide Farouk Kibet, who has been personally leading the campaigns.

The high-stakes nature of the contest was on Friday on display after chaos erupted in Malava during an opposition rally attended by Wiper party leader Kalonzo Musyoka, Jubilee presidential candidate Fred Matiang’i, DAP-K leader Eugene Wamalwa, among others, to drum up support for their candidate Panyako.

Sustained attempts by the police to block the rally ended in disarray after supporters forcefully protested. Earlier, the police disrupted preparations at Malava Primary School, where tents were being set up, forcing the organisers to relocate to another venue. They were, however, followed by the police, who issued an order for the cancellation of the arrangements, but this only prompted an ugly confrontation before the officers were finally driven off.

“We know they (our competitors) have a plan to disrupt the by-elections next week so that you do not vote. They want to create chaos by teargassing our supporters and especially the women so that they are unable to vote,” said Kalonzo shortly after the rally commenced.

His sentiments were lauded by Matiang’i, who urged their supporters to “protect their votes” on the material day.

All the while, UDA party was also holding its rally in support of Ndakwa, through which they accused the opposition of provoking tension and misleading the public about the role of expected heavy police deployments.

Navakholo MP Emmanuel Wangwe hit out at the opposition, claiming they had nothing to offer the electorate, and urged supporters to stick with the government and reap development projects.

“In the entire Kakamega County, will you people of Malava be the only ones to vote in a leader from the opposition so he is unable to bring you development?” posed Wangwe.

And on Friday, the home of Kabuchai MP Majimbo Kalasinga — a leader allied to the united opposition — was stoned by goons as campaign vehicles readied for the campaigns were also destroyed.

In Kasipul, chaos has also characterized the contest pitting Independent candidate Phillip Aroko against ODM’s Boyd Were. Earlier this week, IEBC fined the duo Sh1 million each after they were held responsible for clashes between their supporters, which led to the death of two people.

It is on the premise of such developments that the opposition has now cast doubt over the possibility of a free and fair by-election and is seeking IEBC’s unbiased intervention.

Democratic Party (DP) leader and former Attorney General Justin Muturi has written to the commission over a scheme he said is meant to corrupt the Mbeere North by-election and demanded that the commission stops the electoral breach in the constituency.

“We write to protest the planned use of armed goons from Nairobi and Thika, among other areas, in favour of the UDA candidate with involvement of National Government Administration officers under the escort and command of National Police Service in civilian clothes. We have information that there are already plans to invade selected polling centres in the strongholds of our candidate with the aim of suppressing and disrupting voting on polling day,” reads the letter in part.

Muturi also alleged massive voter bribery by government allies and claimed that the electorate had been directed to take photos of their ballot papers so as to get Sh5,000 in return, which is against the principle of secret ballot in elections.

“The purpose of this letter is therefore to bring to your attention the above plans to deny voters a free, fair, credible and verifiable election. We call upon your commission to put in place measures to redress these evil and illegal machinations and update us on the measures taken,” the letter read.

But in a rejoinder, Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku accused Gachagua and his ilk of purchasing identity cards belonging to people in areas where UDA candidate Leo Wamuthende is popular in a bid to suppress him.

“Gachagua has resorted to unorthodox means to suppress UDA’s voter turnout in areas where we have massive support so that his candidate can overshadow ours. They are now buying national identity cards after they were chased by the electorate,” Ruku claimed while on the campaign trail.

Leadership and Governance Expert Bosco Mutegi now avers that the IEBC needs to whip all those violating the electoral code of conduct. He said that in places where elections are taking place, the commission must come out strongly.

“The by-elections are a huge test for IEBC as their first election, and they have everything to prove, including that they are able to handle the 2027 elections. Their management of the by-election, for example in Mbeere North, will have a lot of impact on IEBC. But so far so good, because the situation in Mbeere has been very calm regardless of the claims of voter bribery and planned demonstrations. It is now a wait-and-see situation,” stated Mutegi.

And in its defence, IEBC has assured Kenyans of a free, fair and accountable process void of political interference.

“This is a test ahead for us, but upon appointment, we the IEBC commissioners took oath of office and we assured that we would do everything possible to ensure that elections will be successful,” IEBC chairperson Erastus Ethekon told The Standard.