The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has turned down Azimio – One Kenya’s compulsory demands to the commission to use manual register in August election instead of electronic/digital register.
Speaking on Thursday, 7th July, IEBC Chief Executive Officer Marjan Hussein Marjan maintained that the commission will not use the manual register unless the voter has failed to be identified electronically by three different Kenya integrated electronic management system (Kiems) kits.
“If you turn up and for some reasons we are not able to identify you it says we replace the kit, once we replace the kit it will function normally if it refuses, we have a third kit and if that is not working that is when we can resort to a manual register,” Marjan said.
Marjan also requested the critics of Kiems kits to lodge the cases with the commission with reasons attached over the their decision to downplay the electronic register.
The IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati on the same note affirmed that the commission was readily prepared to employ an electronic register and there were no possibilities of reverting back to the manual register.
He argued that the supreme court ruling in 2017 over NASA coalition and Jubilee’s controversial election that was nullified, suggested the Commission uses an electronic register.
“In 2017, during the controversial election saga that ended up in the supreme court, the ruling suggested that we employ an electronic register in the forthcoming election,” he said.
PHOTO: Wafula Chebukati and Raila Odinga
Chebukati also assured that every polling station will be manned by two police officers to reinforce security during and after the election process.
This emerges after Raila had accused his main challenger, Kenya Kwanza presidential candidate William Ruto over the alleged incorporated plans with the IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati to rig the election in favor of Ruto.
Raila alleged that Bungoma senator Moses Wetangula through his personal aide Joshua Abdalla Makokha had contracted the ballot papers printing tender from the Greek firm, a move that risks jeopardizing the electoral process in August.
