Mombasa governor aspirant Suleiman Shahbal during a past media breifing in Mombasa. [Photo: Suleiman Shahbal/ facebook.com]
Mombasa Governor hopeful Suleiman Shahbal has blamed the opposition for the decision to abandon the Jubilee smart cards in the party's nominations.
Shahbal claimed members of the opposition had bought the cards in perceived battle grounds to influence the outcome of the nomination results, by voting for 'weaker 'candidates in regions like Mombasa and Nairobi.
"We as Jubilee were hoping to use the cards in our nominations but we underestimated the opposition's capacity to buy the cards and we found ourselves in a dilemma particularly in regions like Nairobi and Mombasa where the Jubilee party is not completely dominant," he said.
"In Central that would not work for them but in some areas considered battle ground they would do so to influence our nominations," he added.
Shahbal reiterated that the President Uhuru Kenyatta-led party was committed to conducting free and fair primaries, but however noted that a few cases of discontent were bound to arise.
"We are going to try and have a free and fair primaries but a process of this magnitude is bound to have a few problems here and there," he said.
The businessman, who is set to battle it out with Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho for the county's top seat, was speaking during a live TV interview on Citizen's Power Breakfast Show on Friday.