A deputy presiding officer in Nyando sub-county, Kisumu county has been arrested for allegedly influencing his colleague to try and tilt the results of Tuesday’s election in favour of a parliamentary candidate.
Nyando Returning Officer Maurice Simiyu said the poll official had been seconded to Lela polling station.
He said the PO was captured in a video clip trying to persuade his colleague to favour a certain candidate in the Nyando parliamentary race.
Simiyu said after careful analysis of the clip and interrogation of the officer who was being persuaded, he alerted police officers and handed over the presiding officer to them.
“The PO was kind of not neutral and tried to persuade his colleagues to favour a candidate but we were able to get him,” Simiyu said.
Simiyu added that he has already fired the officer for engaging in electoral malpractice and replaced him with another official.
The Returning officer was speaking to the press at the tallying center in Nyando where they were dispatching POs together with the materials to the polling stations.
He said the officers were already briefed and they are all set and ready for Tuesday’s election.
