City Businessman and Safina Presidential hopeful Jimmy Wanjigi has questioned the ability of Independent and Electoral Boundary Commission (IEBC) to conduct credible polls citing the nullification of 2017 presidential poll by the Supreme Court as an indictment on the poll body’s ability to deliver free and fair elections.
Mr. Wanjigi stated that IEBC has never thought of conducting a comprehensive election audit to explain to netizens how the 2017 polls were compromised.
Wanjigi was speaking in Voi during a meeting with Safina party officials where he promised to become the alternative candidate for the youth and the marginalized.
“The supreme court nullified the presidential election based on evidence that there was massive tampering with the results. The polls body has never done an audit to tell Kenyans what happened, yet they are the ones who are being trusted to conduct fair elections this year,” said the businessman-turned-politician.
The presidential hopeful stated that the commission’s chairperson Wafula Chebukati who was in office in 2017 had a stain on his resume as his body also never complied with the directive of opening the elections’ servers to enhance transparency of the commission.
He warned that IEBC would not find it easy to steal votes in favor of certain candidates.
“Let them know that this is 2022. Any attempt to take our votes away will be impossible,” warned the aspirant.
Wanjigi also cautioned the media from being manipulated into framing the August 2022 general election as a two-horse race.
He rubbished the two-horse race notion and called for objective reporting that focused on the pertinent issues that he opined should dominate the coming elections.
He termed the 2022 election as a question on the poor state of the economy and predicted that the economy would only get worse in view of the escalating cost of living and the weakening of the shilling against the dollar.
He added that the economic survey indicated Kenya was struggling with massive trade deficits and crippling debts which would lead to total meltdown of the economy.
“The projection of this election as a contest between two horses is rubbish! The 2022 polls should be on the question of the economy. The contest should be framed as being between candidates on who has the best ideas to rescue the economy from the looming catastrophe,” he said.
Wanjigi cautioned Kenyans against being duped by Kenya Kwanza and Azimio coalitions terming them as the chief architects of the gradual meltdown of the economy the country was experiencing today.
He stated that the principals of both rival coalitions had no idea on how to turn around the economy as they had participated in formulating bad policies that made the country suffer.
He challenged United Democratic Alliance (UDA)’s Deputy President William Ruto and Former Prime Minister Raila Odinga to an open debate over the economy for Kenyans to see who has the most realistic ideas on how to deal with trade, business and debt questions.
“These are the same people who put us in this mess. You cannot expect them to have solutions to whatever is ailing the economy,” he said.
He further disclosed that the Safina Party would have a post-election coalition with Members of Parliament (MPs); the majority of whom he said would be elected on independent tickets.