Raila's name missing in the voter register!

Election rigging in Kenya took a turn for the worse when ODM presidential candidate Raila Odinga got the shock of his life when he failed to vote because his name was missing from the voter register. Also missing from the register is a large chunk of names, conspicuously begining with "O".

It is alleged that people whose names start with letters A, O, R and W would not vote because their names are missing from Lang’ata constituency registers. Incidentally, bearers of names with these initials hail from communities where the ODM presidential candidate enjoys a large following. Other events marring the ongoing elections include late opening of polling centres, long queues and reports of cancellation of civic election in one Nairobi ward. There are also reports that a mob invaded Eldoret Police Station in the morning after ‘learning’ that ballot boxes stuffed with marked ballot papers were being stored in the facility.

In Nyanza, voting was delayed for two hours at Ongeche polling centre in Nyando constituency following a "mix-up" in parliamentary ballot papers. Out of the 50 pages of Parliamentary ballot pages brought to the centre, 37 pages were meant for Butere constituency in Western province. Polling centres opened at 8.30am, but voting had not started by 9am. In Uriri, voting was temporarily interrupted at a polling station in the constituency when a group of youths were beaten for allegedly campaigning against the three-piece voting system. In Kuria District, poling was delayed at Rosabare and Mabera centres for close to one hour after clerks discovered that an embosser they were using to stamp voting cards was faulty ad had to be changed.

Meanwhile, Education minister Prof George Saitoti and ODM Kajiado North parliamentary candidate Rev Moses Ole Sakuda have protested over a mix up of ballot papers in some of the polling centres in the area. Tension was high at Lenchami and Ilpolosat polling stations after it emerged that the Parliamentary ballot papers meant for the stations had been swooped with those of Changamwe constituency in the Coast Province. "We know there is a trick. We want this mix up sorted out within the voting hours otherwise we shall run out of patience," Sakuda said. In Kilgoris, Immigration minister Gedion Konchella was turned away from DEB polling centre in Kilgoris after his name was found missing from the ECK register.