Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

top

2017 KENYA ELECTIONS

Chebukati says voters register will be all cleaned-up by week’s end

Former PM Raila Odinga (l), CJ Maraga and Chebukati (r)/CFM

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 13 – The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will conclude cleaning-up the voters register in accordance with recommendations by the KPMG audit report by the end of the week.

IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati said during a National Elections Conference whose theme is “Working Together Towards a Credible and Peaceful General Election,” on Tuesday that the Commission was committed to ensuring a credible voters roll is used on the August 8.

“We are at the moment working on improving the quality of the register based on the findings of the recently finalised KPMG audit. We wish to conclude this exercise in a week or so,” Chebukati said.

He called upon Kenyans to join hands and cease fanning violence saying all positions of leadership belong to them and therefore they have a choice to pick the leaders they want to serve them.

“Let us desist from the politics of division and embrace the politics of unity. Do not let this election be a pretext that threatens communities that have always lived in peace. Let us protect women, children and the vulnerable from violence and threats of violence. And let the young people stand out to be counted as agents of peace and democracy,” he urged.

Chebukati pointed out that working in harmony is critical to ensuring that the elections are conducted in a peaceful environment void of chaos and mayhem.

He said while the elections present voters with an opportunity to elect leaders, it was vital that they do so with the understanding that the supreme authority of choosing leaders vested upon them can only be realised through a peaceful and democratic electoral process.

“It is important however to emphasise that the protection of democracy requires all of us to work together. It is fundamental to the protection of the sovereign power of the people of Kenya. As leaders seeking political office, those positions constitutionally belong to the Kenyan people.”

Chebukati also announced during the conference that entered its second day Tuesday that an additional 10,000 Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS) kits were delivered Monday by Safran Identity and Security, the firm tasked with supplying the gadgets , bringing the total number of kits to 45,000.

According to Chebukati, the Commission will through the devices ensure the General Election is conducted in a manner that will attract the confidence of all stakeholders.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

“The Commission has sought to ensure that it puts in place a more reliable electronic system for purposes of voter identification and results transmission. This assurance shall be obtained through a series of tests that the Commission shall carry out on the technology before the elections. The Commission is also investing in information security to ensure reliability, availability and integrity of our systems,” he said.

Chebukati said the Commission had picked the Bomas of Kenya as its National Tallying Centre for the presidential election, the re-designing of the venue to promote transparency and accountability during the process of relying results having been concluded.

There are a total of 14,552 candidates cleared by the IEBC to vie for the 1,882 seats across the country.

The conference was attended by key stakeholders in the electoral process including National Assembly Majority leader Aden Duale who represented President Uhuru Kenyatta, NASA flag bearer Raila Odinga, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission Chairperson Archbishop Eliud Wabukala as well as foreign diplomats.

About The Author

Comments
Advertisement

More on Capital News