Of dead voters and election rigging, Omar defends self before IEBC

UDA Secretary-General Hassan Omar has told the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) that he used figurative language when he made remarks that were interpreted to be intentions by the government to rig the 2027 general election.

The remarks made by Omar who is a senior official in the ruling party on the conduct of the 2027 General Election raised concerns over the growing rhetoric around election manipulation and the willingness of political actors to contemplate irregular means of securing victory for president William Ruto.

During a political event in Mombasa where he declared his candidacy for the Mombasa Governorship seat, Omar unequivocally stated the ruling Kenya Kwanza coalition would engage in a "do-or-die" battle to ensure that President William Ruto secures a second term in office.

“We will harvest fingerprints of individuals who die close to the election day before they are buried and use them on the Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits to secure victory since the coming general election is a do-or-die battle and will ensure that President Ruto secures re-election,” said Omar.

He appeared before the IEBC Disciplinary Committee chaired by Commissioner Alutalala Mukhwana urging the commission to dismiss the allegation against him arguing that the remarks were political hyperbole as the commissioners raised concerns over election integrity and responsible political communication ahead of 2027 polls.

Alutalala said that the IEBC had summoned the former Mombasa Senator to appear before it at its Anniversary Towers Headquarters in Nairobi to respond to the allegations against him under the Electoral Code of Conduct contained in the Second Schedule of the Elections Act, 2011.

The IEBC Disiciplinary Committee Chairperson said that the proceedings by the commission were to give Omar an opportunity to present his side of the story before the committee made a determination over his case on whether he committed an electoral offence or not.

“At the centre of this hearing is whether Omar’s remarks constituted political hyperbole, as he is suggesting with an intention to mobilise voters, as he has maintained or on whether they could undermine confidence in the integrity of the electoral process,” said Alutalala.

Through his Advocates, Emmanuel Kibet and Adrian Kamotho, Omar asked the committee to dismiss the allegations, arguing that his remarks had been taken out of context and were never intended as an instruction to engage in electoral malpractice.

Kibet told the committee that the speech by the former Senator was a rallying call urging the residents of the Coast region to register as voters, verify their details in the register and turn out in large numbers on election day to ensure that they re-elect the current government.

The Advocate told the IEBC Commissioners that the remarks by Omar were figurative speech that was intended to communicate that even death should not prevent people from exercising their democratic right to vote.

“I would like to urge the IEBC to consider the speech by Omar in its entirety rather than through a short extract; if you look at the video you can see the audience’s laughter and reaction as evidence that the remarks had been understood as satire and political rhetoric,” said Kibet.

The defence team further argued that the Coast region had historically recorded voter turnout of less than 50 per cent in previous general elections, making voter mobilisation a central theme of Omar’s address which should not be construed to mean anything ulterior.

Kibet argued that the remarks did not amount to an invitation to use the biometric data of deceased persons, adding that the IEBC not political parties were responsible for voter registration and the administration of elections.

“There is insufficient evidence to establish a breach of the Electoral Code of Conduct on the part of my client, I am urging this committee to exonerate from any wrongdoing, In the alternative we are appealing to the committee to exercise restraint and impose no more than a warning if it found a breach of the law,” said Kibet.

Kamotho argued that several UDA members had appeared before the committee in recent months, including Kipipiri MP Wanjiku Muia and Nakuru Town East MP David Gikaria, and questioned why officials from other political parties were not being subjected to similar scrutiny.

The advocate urged the investigators to examine alleged breaches by other political actors while maintaining that UDA would continue to encourage its members to comply with the law and that it should be seen that only one side of the political divide was being targeted.

Alutalala rejected the suggestion that UDA was being specifically targeted, saying that the appearance of party members before the committee did not necessarily demonstrate selective enforcement.

He acknowledged that allegations against the IEBC, including claims that it could manipulate election results, were also a concern to the Commission, urging political parties not to justify misconduct by pointing to the actions of others.

“I would like to encourage political parties to participate in stakeholder engagements through the Political Parties Liaison Committee; such forums provided opportunities to address concerns and promote peaceful elections before disputes escalated,” said Alutalala.

Omar in his submission cited voter registration figures that showed Mombasa had registered only about 12,000 to 13,000 new voters, despite an estimated 200,000 people who could still register arguing that low registration and turnout limited the region’s political influence over the years.

The former Senator also referred to the historical marginalisation of border communities and Muslim communities, saying his political activism had long focused on access to identification documents, citizenship rights and participation in national affairs.

The UDA Secretary General told the IEBC Disciplinary Committee that political language could not always be interpreted literally, particularly when used in campaign settings where metaphors, exaggeration and satire were common feature.

“I would like to acknowledge that I made the controversial remarks during a voter registration drive and that the event’s live transmission included voter identification and registration messages, I am not encouraging electoral fraud, I have no interest in undermining an election that I believed the UDA party and its coalition Partners could win,” said Omar.

The former Senator challenged the IEBC to protect the integrity of the voter register and ensure that no deceased person was used to cast a ballot with the commissioners present raising concerns about the wider implications of Omar’s remarks.

Commissioner Francis Aduol asked how Omar expected his audience to receive the statement and what evidence convinced him that the message had been understood as he intended. Given past allegations of voting in the names of deceased persons, some listeners could interpret the remarks as an encouragement to engage in such practices.

Commissioner Anne Nderitu observed that political leaders were not addressing only the crowds physically present at their rallies but were also speaking to the wider nation urging Omar to consider how remarks understood in one cultural setting might be interpreted elsewhere.

Commissioner Hassan Noor invoked Kenya’s history of election-related violence, recalling the tensions associated with the two-finger salute in 1992 and that the IEBC had a responsibility to contain potentially toxic political rhetoric before they escalated.

“Political leaders have a responsibility to protect the peace that Kenyans had worked to maintain over the years, particularly as the country approaches another emotionally charged election period, the matter would be considered alongside the evidence and submissions presented during the hearing,” said Noor.

Alutalala said that the IEBC Committee would go through all the material presented by Omar before communicating its decision through the Committee Secretary on Wednesday next week.

The committee did not communicate on whether Omar breached the Electoral Code of Conduct or not at the close of the proceedings.