Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is expected to meet all four presidential aspirants today, June 29 for a consultative meeting with stakeholders on voters’ register and the commission’s readiness for the August polls.
Kenya Kwanza Alliance’s William Ruto, Azimio La Umoja-One Kenya’s Raila Odinga, Roots Party’s George Wajakoyah and Agano Party’s David Mwaure have been invited by IEBC amidst concerns over the commission’s preparedness.
Moreover, some of the key issues to be discussed in the meeting include;
- Printed register of voters
- Election results path
- Harmonizing campaign schedules for presidential candidates
In addition, Raila Odinga is among those who have questioned the commission’s decision of not using the manual voter register to complement electronic identification of voters. At the same time, deputy president Ruto’s team have taken a common stand on the phasing out of the physical register for voter identification in favor of the biometric system.
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Moreover, seven civil society organizations have also challenged the same decision by IEBC in court.
Kenya Kwanza and Azimio la Umoja One Kenya alliances’ have further raised concerns that extra ballot papers can be printed to manipulate election outcome. As such they demand assurance that the polls will not be bungled.
Furthermore, the two coalitions have also questioned how the commission plans to transfer results from areas not covered by 3G and 4G networks.
Nonetheless, the Raila Odinga-led coalition on June 28 made fresh demands to IEBC asking to be informed about their level of preparedness for August general elections.
The coalition through their legal advisor Paul Mwangi are now asking for a certified copy of the register of voters, the geo-reference for each polling stations, a list of all polling stations, the design, election results declaration forms and essential features and security attributes of ballot papers.