The Elections Observation Group (ELOG) has raised concerns over widespread vote buying, campaign violence and voter inducement ahead of Thursday's Ol Kalou by-election, warning that the practices could undermine the credibility of the poll.
In a preliminary pre-election assessment released Wednesday, ELOG said the campaign period has been characterised by heightened political activity across all five wards of the constituency, during which the group documented several practices that raise concerns regarding compliance with the legal and ethical standards governing election campaigns.
Its long-term observers documented allegations of cash handouts, distribution of household items, campaign disruptions, and violent incidents involving political actors across the constituency.
“Reports of vote buying and the distribution of cash and material incentives were widespread throughout the constituency. Observer reports linked these activities to actors from nearly all participating political parties, with leaders affiliated with the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) featuring most prominently. The reported inducements included cash ranging from Sh200 to more than Sh5,000, gas cylinders, mattresses, shoes, and other household items,” the group said.
“One common practice involved distributing Sh1,000 to groups of three people, locally referred to as "330 meetings." The recipients included women, youth, and older persons, although women aged between 25 and 45 years and youth aged between 20 and 35 years appeared most frequently in observer reports,” the group added.
The findings are based on reports submitted by ELOG's Long-Term Observers (LTOs) deployed to monitor electoral preparations, political activities, campaigns, electoral integrity, and the overall security environment, who recorded attempts by political parties or independent candidates to purchase National Identity Cards from members of the public, particularly in Mirangine and Karau Wards.
The observers further noted that campaign activities were not always conducted in a conducive environment, with 33.2 per cent of reports documenting incidents in which political party or independent candidate campaign activities were disrupted, limiting the ability of candidates to freely engage voters.
For instance, a campaign strategy meeting organised by the Democratic Congress Party (DCP) at Royal Gardens Getaway was attacked by suspected goons, resulting in one person sustaining fatal head injuries.
The group adds that during another event, a UDA-organised football tournament attended by approximately 3,000 people, turned violent.
The report adds that issues of campaign financing and voter inducement were also prevalent, with 79 per cent of observer reports indicating the initiation of new development projects during the campaign period that were perceived to be intended to influence voter support for particular candidates or political parties.
Similarly, 86 per cent of reports indicated that political parties or candidates distributed food, household items, and other campaign materials to voters and that politicians organised harambees during the campaign period, practices that raise concerns regarding the use of money in elections to influence voter choice and warrant close attention by the relevant enforcement agencies.
The IEBC has slated the by-election for Thursday, when the polling will start at 6 am and end at 6 pm, allowing everyone who is in line to exercise their democratic right even past the voting deadline.
ELOG noted that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has continued preparations for the Ol Kalou Constituency by-election.
“92 per cent of observer reports indicated that the Commission was conducting training for election officials ahead of polling day. This suggests that the Commission has made significant progress in preparing election personnel to administer the election. With regard to voter education, 45 per cent of observer reports indicated that the IEBC was conducting voter education activities across the constituency. In addition, 54 per cent of observer reports indicated that Civil Society Organisations were also implementing voter education initiatives,” the report says.
ELOG urged the Commission, security agencies, political parties, candidates and voters to uphold the law, reject violence and voter inducement, and work together to ensure the election day is peaceful, transparent, and credible.
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