The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Wednesday morning held a meeting with representatives from the Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) to address Kibra poll preparedness.
Addressing the press after the meeting, the commission chairman, Wafula Chebukati, stated that the electoral body will assign an investigator in the constituency to probe rigging claims raised by ODM.
Chebukati noted that the commission had agreed to share the 2017 voters register with the ODM party which was represented by Secretary-General Edwin Sifuna and National Assembly Minority leader John Mbadi.
Reiterating that the commission is fully prepared for the mini-poll, the chair stated that there will be no electoral transmission of the results adding that the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS) will only be used for verification purposes.
“The law provides for electoral transmission for presidential elections and so, in this case, KIEMS will only be used for verification and keeping data for identification. Other processes are manual and will be handled at the tallying centre,” said Chebukati.
Read: IEBC Responds To ODM’s Rigging Claims Ahead Of Planned Protests
In a statement on Tuesday, the ODM party vowed to stage a demonstration on Wednesday to force the commission to produce the Kibra voter register.
“The IEBC has refused to provide the updated register for Kibra constituency ahead of the November 7 election even after persistent requests by the party. We shall be marching to their offices tomorrow (Wednesday) at 9 am and will not leave until it is provided,” said ODM.
ODM’s National Assembly Minority whip, Junet Mohammed, and Mbadi, who doubles up as party chairman, defended the move saying IEBC’s refusal to provide the register was sending a wrong signal to the electorates. This they said include rigging the poll in favour of Jubilee candidate McDonald Mariga.
“The hide-and-seek games IEBC has engaged our party over the register is breeding suspicion,” the party added.
Read Also: IEBC Tribunal Clears Jubilee’s Mariga To Contest In Kibra By-election
IEBC, however, dismissed the claims saying the commission will “strictly comply with the law and no registered voter will be disenfranchised as every vote counts”.
Wafula, In a statement released on Monday morning, noted that IEBC has in the past few days been engaged in the process of facilitating changes in the Kibra voter register and confirmed that the changes were posted yesterday.
The changes include new enrollment and transfers during the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) period.
According to the electoral body, as of 2017, the number of registered voters in Kibra was 118,276. The number of voters registered during the CVR exercise and uploaded is 333.
Read Also: President Uhuru Meets Mariga, Assures Him Of Full Support In Race For Kibra Seat (Photos)
44 voters recently transferred their names into the constituency while 22 transfers were made in the constituency. The commission deleted one voter entry and updated biographic details of another voter (1).
“The Commission has from today posted the changes to the Kibra register of voters detailed above in the Constituency Returning Officer’s office for seven (7) days inspection and verification.
“Thereafter, the register will be certified and be readily available for sharing with Political Parties including ODM and any other interested party, ” Wafula said.
The poll has been slated for November 7.
In the mini-polls, ODM’s Imran Okoth will face Mariga, Amani National Congress’ Eliud Owala, Editar Achieng of Ukweli Party, Ford Kenya’s Khamisi Butichi and a number of independent candidates contesting for the seat.
The seat fell vacant following the demise of immediate former MP Ken Okoth, who succumbed to colorectal cancer in July this year.
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