By Lauryne Akoth
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) elections in Narok county faced turmoil as heavy rains caused delays in delivering voting materials and accusations of election rigging surfaced.
Concerns arose that the 131,000 registered UDA Party members might be unable to vote due to these challenges. At Siyiapei Primary School in Narok East, materials were reportedly intercepted by a group, and the vehicle transporting them narrowly escaped being set on fire.
Governor Ntutu of Narok, speaking to the media after voting at Kutete Primary School in Melili ward, remained optimistic about the process, dismissing claims of disruption. He insisted that despite the rain-induced delays, the elections began smoothly.
The UDA headquarters had to resort to sending a helicopter to distribute materials to remote areas where roads were impassable.
Meanwhile, Gabriel Tongoyo, a prominent candidate for chairmanship, and Narok West MP alleged that ballot boxes and poll gadgets were tampered with inside a vehicle en route to the polling center in Narok North.
Tongoyo, a fierce rival of Governor Ntutu, also raised concerns about the involvement of county employees, including senior officials, as polling officers and clerks, suggesting this could compromise the integrity of the results across all 600 polling centers.
Francis Topia, who participated in intercepting the alleged materials, described how they prevented the vehicle from being torched.
At the Masikonte Primary School polling center, voters like Marion Towet and Paul Mbugua expressed frustration over the delays, emphasizing that a party event should not be prolonged.
The United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party decided to prolong the duration of the grassroots elections due to delays.
Anthony Mwaura, the chairman of the party’s National Elections Board (NEB), announced that this decision aims to give time to voters who were yet to cast their votes.
Originally, the polls were set to conclude at 3:00 pm to allow for the commencement of the vote-counting process.