Chaos and protests as Jubilee nominations fail to kick off

dennis kibet

April 21, 2017 11:09 AM

The party’s electoral officials said that the polling stations had received insufficient ballot papers

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Nandi County on Friday descended into chaos as the Jubilee Party primaries failed to kick off as scheduled.

Angry Jubilee supporters took to the streets in protest after it emerged that the electoral officials had halted the exercise.

The party’s electoral officials said that the polling stations had received insufficient ballot papers.

“We found that the kits issued to some stations had half the number of ballot papers required; such incidences were reported across numerous polling centres in the county,” County Returning Officer, Solomon Mangira said to the media.

Following the delays, rowdy youth took to the county’s street and blocked the main roads outside the county’s tallying centre.

Abandon Jubilee

The angry Jubilee supporters defaced the party offices threatening to defect to rival parties including Isaac Ruto's Chama Cha Mashinani (CCM) and Kanu.

Police were later called to the scene and were forced to lobby teargas canisters to calm the rowdy youth.

However, Jubilee Party Secretary General Raphael Tuju said claims of shortage of ballot papers were misguided and insisted aspirants or returning officers had no powers to postpone the exercise.

Tuju maintained that the primaries will go on despite the delays across the country.

dennis kibet