Printing Of Ballot Papers For Repeat Presidential Poll Begins This Week

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) says that the printing of ballots papers to be used in the October 26 repeat presidential election begins this week despite NASA demonstrations.

A commissioner with the electoral agency, Dr. Roselyn Akombe, speaking during a meeting with various election observers at IEBC headquarters in Nairobi said political parties rejected the offer by the United Nations Development Programme to procure ballot papers and result forms and this, therefore, has led the commission to stick to the initial plan.

See Also: MPs Pass Amendment To Election Laws Amid Demos

“In terms of logistics and technical operations, as a Commission we are confident we will be able to deliver a free, fair and credible poll. We will involve the media in all our operations and also allow live coverage in all constituencies,” Dr Akombe said.

However, the IEBC aounced on Thursday that the repeat presidential election would continue as plaed and all eight candidates who participated on August 8 General Election will be included in the ballot paper.

The NASA coalition, however, continues to push the electoral body to procure a different ballot printing company besides the Dubai-based Al Ghurair Printing Company that was awarded the tender to print the August 8 General Election ballot papers, accusing the firm of colluding with IEBC to print additional and unconventional ballot papers which they allege were used to rig in Jubilee’s President Uhuru Kenyatta.

Read Also: Commission’s Proposal To Avoid August 8 Election Cancellation Mistakes

THE SUDDEN RETREAT AND CONTINUOUS DEMONSTRATIONS

NASA leader Raila Odinga has pulled out of the race insisting that he can only do so after the IEBC is reformed. NASA has organized protests to force out IEBC officials it accuses of bungling the August 8 presidential poll in favor of President Uhuru Kenyatta whose victory the Supreme Court aulled courtesy of a NASA petition and ordered a fresh poll.

The decision came after High Court Justice Mativo determined that all candidates who participated in the General Election held on the 8th August 2017 were entitled to participate in the fresh poll. The Court ordered IEBC to include Thirdway Alliance party leader Ekuru Aukot in the October 26 poll. Judge Mativo ruled that there was no legal basis to bar Mr. Aukot from participating.

“Barring the petitioner from participating is denying him his constitutional right,” Mativo pointed out. In his reaction, Aukot noted that the IEBC needs to be reformed before the fresh presidential poll. “I am very happy today because for the second time the Judiciary has proved to serve justice to the people of Kenya. However our push for reforms in the electoral commission remains steadfast,” said Aukot.

See: The Three Major Cities Where Protests Have Been Baed

IEBC NEW PLANS AND APPROACH FOR A FREE, FAIR AND CREDIBLE REPEAT PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

While detailing the steps taken to ensure results are transmitted in an open and credible maer, Dr. Akombe insisted that results verification will be done at the constituency level before the returning officer and party agents sign the final form.

Furthermore, the returning officers will be required to physically deliver constituency-based results to the National Tallying Center at the Bomas of Kenya in Nairobi before the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairperson, Wafula Chebukati can declare the wier.

“We have seven days. We will not be rushed to aounce the results and we will not allow any pressure to our returning officers to aounce results,” said Dr. Akombe

The commission, however, has identified the problem as was read in the petition submitted to the Supreme Court that led to the nullifying of the former election which was the failure to verify the results the chairperson had received before declaring victory for the incumbent President.

To cure the anomaly, Dr. Akombe further explained that all the 290 constituency returning officers (CROs) will be required to, after submitting the scaed forms 34B via the electronic results transmission system, submit the original forms at the National Tallying Centre.

The poll body further affirmed that the reconfiguring of the KIEMS kits will also be done in good time against reports of time constraints.

The commission further named Safaricom as their main network provider. The number of polling centres with no network coverage has since been reduced from 11,000 to 3,000.

The commission was also keen to note that any returning officers who were implicated in any electoral malpractice in the August 8th election will not be part of this election.

The meeting was held amid demonstrations by NASA supporters seeing the removal of IEBC CEO Ezra Chiloba and other commissioners ahead of the poll.

More to come