The elections for the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), which were being held in Homa Bay County, were prematurely stopped on Monday after violence broke out at the polling station.
Chaos erupted on January 12 as an unknown group of people stormed the voting station, took ballot boxes, and lit them ablaze, thereby putting an abrupt end to the highly anticipated teachers’ election.
However, Homa Bay County KUPPET Executive Secretary Steven Yogo attributed the disruption to the use of juakali (hired goons) because some of the candidates were behind the violence to get the election results they wanted.
“They brought goons into the polling station, which is against electoral law,” Yogo said. “And we even saw teachers going back to the line to vote again.”
Further, he claimed that there could be cases of voters marking their ballots twice using a liquid that could remove the indelible ink used to mark those who had already voted as their mark.
As things were worsening, teachers who had not cast their votes fled the region in fear, prompting the electoral body to cancel the voting process. No results were, however, released.
Candidates involved in the contest complained about the disruption caused by the aborted elections, stating that they had greatly invested in the process that was disrupted by alleged malpractice.
“Indeed, we have invested too much in this election process. We want a strong union, but this can only be achieved if our members have the freedom to choose their leaders democratically,” said one of the candidates being considered. “We’re not giving up on our quest for change.”
Some of the contestants blamed the labor office, which is required to monitor the election, for not dealing with complaints that had been raised earlier concerning irregularities.
They are now petitioning the electoral commission to void the whole process and declare new elections.
KUPPET officials in Homa Bay confirmed that they are waiting for directives from the electoral board of the trade union, which is expected to guide the next course of events. KUPPET is currently undertaking branch election processes nationwide.
The election is aimed at electing and/or re-electing union officials. Although some counties have reported a peaceful voting process, others have experienced interrupted voting. This is because in Baringo County, the voting process will happen on January 31.