No violence during election, police warn

National

VIOLENCE, intimidation, bribery and corruption will not be tolerated during the general election, says Electoral Commissioner Patilias Gamato.
He told The National that these were things the Commonwealth Observer Group noted about the 2012 election and should not be repeated.
“This is more so during the polling period,” Gamato said. “I’m also concerned about what was reported in the past. There has been bribery, corruption, intimidation and violence at the polling stations.
“I want to make a strong statement here that our people must start respecting the process. These were observed and reported by the Commonwealth Observer Group.
“We need to change our attitude towards elections and start respecting the process,” he said. Gamato said there had been cases, especially in the Highlands region, of ballot papers taken out and marked by only one person away from the polling area.
“I’m concerned about that. That’s not the election process. This is outside the prescribed area,” he said.
“For the election process, what happens is that I identify a polling place, and that polling place is gazetted. If someone is going to mark ballot papers outside of the polling place, that’s illegal. This is all because of our attitude and our perception on the election.
“The election process is very clear – it requires people to stand in a line, check their names, get their ballot papers, cast their votes, and then put their ballot papers into the ballot box. The ballot boxes are then opened and counted at the counting centre.”