NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 8 – The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) says 160 disputes have been filed following the conclusion of the registration of aspirants for the various elective seats.
Speaking during a press conference on Wednesday evening, the commission’s chairman Wafula Chebukati expressed confidence that the hearing of all the disputes will be concluded within the set timelines.
He stated that the hearing of the various complaints is set to start this Friday.
“The dispute resolutions come immediately after registration of candidates. Registration was finalized yesterday countrywide. So far, we have received 160 disputes which have been filed with the commission. The process of hearing them will begin on June 10,” he explained.
Chebukati stated that the commission will open a 10-day window for aggrieved aspirants to lodge their complaints with the IEBC Dispute Resolution Committee.
“Some individuals may want to go to court but come to the end of this month, we shall be proceeding to prepare the ballot papers,” he said.
Safina Party leader Jimi Wanjigi, Reuben Kigame (Independent), and Ekuru Aukot (Thirdway Alliance) on Tuesday intimated that they will proceed to the committee to lodge complaints after his application for nomination as a presidential candidate was rejected by the IEBC for lack of a university degree.
County Returning officers in Kiambu and Mombasa on Tuesday referred UDA nominee for Kiambu Senate seat Karungo wa Thang’wa and Wiper’s Mombasa Gubernatorial nominee Mike Sonko to the resolution team.
The IEBC boss further revealed that the commission will conduct a simulation of the technology to be used during August elections on Thursday.
He however stated that IEBC has pushed the gazettement of Voters Register to June 20 to enable the rectification of anomalies revealed during KPMG audit.
“There are claims that have been made from the verification process that called for updates to the register. We expect that by the time we issue our final report, we can confirm that we are comfortable with the implementation of the recommendations made.”
