COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli has said the peace of the country will depend on how the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will conduct the August polls.
Speaking during the burial of Christine Mmbone sister to COTU Chairman Rajab Mwondi at Kapchemgum Village in Hamisi Constituency Vihiga County, Atwoli said the electoral body has the mandate of conducting the coming general election in a free and transparent way.
He urged the chairman of IEBC Wafula Chebukati to ensure the exercise is successful to avoid a repeat of 2007/2008 post-election violence.
“Chebukati has assured all workers in the country that the electoral body is well prepared to conduct the coming general election in a free and transparent way, and we want to believe they are well set for the exercise,” said Atwoli.
He said officers that have been tasked to carry out the exercise should not be driven by greed to sabotage successful elections.
“We know we have some bent elements in the system who would want to mess up the whole exercise but we are sending them a warning, we are not ready to go the same direction this country took after the 2007 polls,” Atwoli said.
The COTU Secretary General warned Western residents over selling their Identification Cards to individuals who want to lower voter turnout in the region.
“This is a NASA zone and we have information there are funny characters moving around collecting IDs from the locals over a small fee to lower voter turnout to favour the other rival camp, this must stop,” reiterated Atwoli.
Atwoli said for the first time the Luhya Community is going to vote as a block and his efforts to unite the community is something that he is proud of.
“Political big wigs in this country have always taken advantage of our disunity for their selfish political interests but this round we have changed the narrative, we are now walking in the same direction and we are going to cast our vote as a unit,” Atwoli said.
Atwoli said the Mulembe Community must now use its numerical strength well this round to elect leaders who will lead this region and the country as a whole in the right direction.