UDA NEB member Mary Muting’a and secretary general Hassan Omar at Miritini World Bank comprehensive school on Thursday / BRIAN OTIENO
UDA NEB member Mary Muting’a, secretary general Hassan Omar and Jomvu ward chair aspirant Janet Mutuku at Miritini World Bank comprehensive school on Thursday / BRIAN OTIENOThe results of the UDA ward elections in Mombasa are expected to be announced immediately after 5pm, when the polls close.
The exercise has had smooth sailing since 8am when the polls opened.
Delegates from the polling station levels trooped in numbers in a show of might, bringing smiles to both the party secretary general Hassan Omar and the National Elections Board member representing the Coast region Mary Muting’a.
Muting’a, who oversaw the exercise across all the 30 wards in the county, expressed satisfaction with the exercise and praised the polling station delegates for their discipline during the whole exercise.
No major incidents were reported.
The polls had earlier been scheduled for Saturday, October 3, but were postponed to October 8 because of President William Ruto’s tour of the region, which would have interfered with the exercise.
UDA has been conducting grassroots-level activities as it seeks to strengthen its party structures ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The ward-level elections form part of the party’s efforts to fill grassroots positions and strengthen its organizational structures across the county.
“As UDA, we are very fair and free. The election is viable. We are doing an exercise which no other party can do,” Muting’a said at the Miritini World Bank comprehensive school.
The voting was electronic.
“This means there cannot be any manipulation. After the voting ends, we will get the results there and then and the winners will be announced.
“We don’t have those tallying centres where we go and start counting. The machine is very perfect. It does the election and compiles a report there and then,” Commissioner Muting’a said.
Omar, who is eligible to vote by virtue of his position as secretary general, voted under the close supervision of Muting’a.
“I appreciate our SG who has been very supportive to us. He helped us in mobilization and you can see the impressive turnout,” Muting’a said.
She noted the strong turnout means UDA is appreciated at the grassroots, which means there has been good ground work done.
The elections were conducted by delegates from the polling stations level, who were electing the ward level delegates.
Each polling station produced 20 delegates, resulting in more than 543,000 party officials elected.
In every polling station, the 20 delegates elected included three farmers, four Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) representatives, three professionals, two members, three religious representatives, four youth representatives, and one representative of Special Interest Groups (SIGs).
The 20 elected officials from each polling station will then form the electoral college responsible for electing the UDA Ward Congress in each of the country’s 1,450 wards.
Each UDA Ward Congress will also have 20 delegates meaning the polling station delegates will elect 20 people to serve in each ward.
Esha Salim, a polling station delegate, said the strong turnout means UDA has been accepted in Mombasa, and that the county is no longer an ODM zone.
“This is a sure sign that President Ruto is going to win his second term. The 20 delegates from each polling station are already his votes. Now imagine each of the 20 delegates at the polling station has 100 other voters behind them. These are all Ruto’s votes,” she said.
She said as time goes, the delegates form a vote block that will be hard to match for any other party.
“We thought the process would be difficult for us but we found it easy and efficient, thanks to technology,” Salim said.
Janet Mutuku, from Jomvu Kuu ward, who was going for the ward chair position, said she has been encouraged by the turnout.
“It shows our party is strong at the grassroots. The delegates have shown that there is huge trust in the party, which gives me strength going forward,” Mutuku said.
“UDA popularity is ever rising and now we are at almost 100 per cent. This is one way of assuring our president that tutam is real,” she said.
She thanks the delegates for maintaining peace during the voting exercise.
