Polls team faces huge logistical test as 40,000 to vie in August

The electoral commission is staring at a monumental task as the number of aspirants for the six elective seats inches closer to 40,000, thrice the figure in 2013.

Despite this, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission chairman Wafula Chebukati on Wednesday said they are ready.

He attributed the large number to what appears to be Kenyans’ insatiable love for the new kid in the block — the Member of the County Assembly.

“We expect the number of aspirants to be as high as 40,000 this year due to increased interest in the position,” said Mr Chebukati. “And with it, we expect monumental challenges in nominations as well as other dynamics. But we are up to the task.”

He was speaking during the opening a two-day forum of elders from 16 communities organised by the National Council of Churches of Kenya, at Jumuia Centre in Limuru.

The electoral commission will design a longer ballot paper, which may mean voting will take longer as voters identify their candidate from the long list.

The electoral commission’s chief executive Ezra Chiloba said the increased number of aspirants will lead to more time, but not the number of ballot papers.

LONGER BALLOT PAPERS

“The commission will have to have longer ballot papers with the increased number of candidates. When we procure, we provide dimensions for the ballot,” Mr Chiloba told the Nation.

But after the party nominations, set for between March 13 and 26, the number could come down.

In 2013, said Mr Chebukati, there were 14,000 aspirants on the ballot, out of over 19,000 who had expressed interest to run.

The commission is looking to procure 130 million ballot papers for the 19.63 million registered voters.

Electors will vote elect the president, governor, senator, Member of Parliament, woman representative, and ward reps.

At the Limuru meeting, Mr Chebukati revealed that the electoral agency will use restricted tendering or direct procurement in a bid to meet deadlines in the purchase of voter identification and transmission kits, with only 158 days to the elections.

READ: Chiloba defends IEBC on readiness for polls

The two are an integral part of the election, whose failure in the March 2013 poll muddied what had otherwise been well-planned.

The electoral commission also has to float a tender for the Sh2.5 billion ballot papers, as well as the Kenya Integrated Election Management System, but Mr Chebukati did not say if that would also go through the restricted process.

The ballot tender was cancelled by a judge while the election management tender was negated by the commission on Tuesday.

DIRECT PROCUREMENT

“Because of time, we have sufficient reasons to go for restricted tendering or direct procurement. But it is really the methodology of procurement, not the systems, that we are changing,” Mr Chebukati said.

The law allows a government agency to use direct procurement and restricted tendering to save time, when there are only a few known suppliers of the goods, or when the work is limited to pre-qualified contractors.

Mr Chebukati assured Kenyans that the commission was up to the task and would deliver a fair, free and credible election.

“As for a peaceful election, that is not for IEBC,” he said. “That is for all of you.”

Mr Chebukati insisted that even with the protracted court cases over its multi-million-shilling tenders, the commission would get the job done on August 8.

“If we follow the court processes, with people fighting for tenders without caring about Kenya, we might not hold elections. Nobody is going to stop us from conducting this election. Those scared of the election, let them look for another reason but not the IEBC,” he said.

Speaking at the same meeting, Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinett said his office was “fully prepared” to provide security during the elections.

“The law will not be suspended for any minute during the election. We will arrest and prosecute anybody who breaches peace anywhere. We have been preparing for this since June 2016,” Mr Boinett said.

He said that the police will provide adequate security in polling stations and on the streets.

National Council of Churches of Kenya secretary-general, the Rev Canon Peter Karanja, said the electoral commission must be protected from the courts, which he said were putting its timelines in limbo.

“For every day that a judicial decision is made, it throws the commission into disarray,” the Rev Karanja said.