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2017 KENYA ELECTIONS

IEBC appeals against ‘impractical’ presidential ballots ruling

The Commission denied reports that it had abandoned the appeal after commencing the public participation requirement the High Court had set as a condition for the fresh procurement process/FILE

NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 10 – True to its word, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission on Monday lodged an appeal against tendering for the presidential ballot papers afresh.

In a statement to newsrooms, IEBC Communications Manager Andrew Limo said it had lodged the appeal on various grounds including “that it presents practical challenges of implementation,” before adding, “we will say no more.”

The Commission denied reports that it had abandoned the appeal after commencing the public participation requirement the High Court had set as a condition for the fresh procurement process.

“In the discharge of its obligation to ensure that Kenyans are able to cast their votes on August 8, and in keeping with its policy of constant engagement with stakeholders, IEBC decided to engage the stakeholders and the public at large in an attempt to find a practical solution so as to ensure that the ballot papers and other election material to be used during the August 8 elections are obtained in good time,” Limo’s statement read.

As part of said engagement, IEBC Commissioners met with the presidential candidates and their representatives on Monday afternoon at which meeting they were accused of not presenting a concrete plan of action.

The Commission had on Friday applied for an expeditious handover of the judgment and court proceedings to allow it appeal.

They also applied for a stay of the court’s orders but their application was denied on the grounds that it would effectively defeat the intent of the orders.

The High Court quashed the award to Al Ghurair, of the presidential ballot printing tender after finding that there was insufficient public participation in the process.

Despite having been a direct procurement, the court found that public participation was fundamental to a free, fair and transparent election.

Their orders did not touch on the other elective posts for the reason that they only heard arguments on the presidential ballots.

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