The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has given in to political pressure and provided a manual register at each voting place.
The register will be utilized as a fallback method of voter identification in the event that the electronic kits malfunction on election day.
Yesterday, in a meeting with the four presidential candidates at the Windsor Hotel in Nairobi, the commission agreed to provide complete information about the Kenya Integrated Elections Management System (KIEMS) kits, including the information to be loaded on them and the location where they will be used.
The elections agency agreed to let the agents of the four candidates visit Inform Lykos in Greece, where the ballots will be printed.
IEBC plans to print about 120 million ballots for the six elective positions that will be contested on August 9, 39 days from today.
Raila questioned if the IEBC will have a printed register of voters at voting stations, while Ruto questioned why some voters were transferred without their knowledge to various polling centres.
In addition, seven civil society organizations have challenged the commission’s decision to eliminate the use of manual registers in court.
Prior to yesterday’s meeting, Raila and Ruto shared a position about the replacement of the paper voter registration list with a biometric system.
Raila insisted that the physical record must be accessible, although Ruto stated he would be fine with an electronic register if the IEBC provided sufficient protections to ensure that all registered voters could cast ballots.
The two leaders also questioned how the IEBC would send results from locations not covered by 3G and 4G internet networks, despite the commission’s assertion that satellite modems would be used.
Chebukati promised the candidates that, despite the fact that a petitioner had filed a lawsuit regarding the use of the manual register, the IEBC would print the register so that it would be usable regardless of the court’s decision.
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