IEBC trains poll officials ahead of fresh election

IEBC officials during a past event. PHOTO | DENNIS ONSONGO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati will today open a five-day training of the commission’s 290 constituency returning officers and an equal number of deputies.
  • Since presidential elections are done at the constituencies and its results final, the IEBC has done away with its 47 county returning officers and their deputies who usually play no role in the process.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission will today begin a thorough training of its constituency poll officials aimed at righting the wrongs the Supreme Court used to nullify the August 8 presidential poll.

IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati will today open a five-day training of the commission’s 290 constituency returning officers and an equal number of deputies.

The meticulous, bit-by-bit training ending Tuesday will be conducted at the Safari Park Hotel, the second of five such trainings the IEBC plans to undertake ahead of the fresh presidential elections scheduled for October 26. 

In its 4-2 majority judgment, the first in Africa and the fourth such in the world, the Kenyan Supreme Court annulled President Uhuru Kenyatta’s win on what it says were IEBC’s systemic issues, that included, but not limited to, unsigned results forms, and failure by the commission to follow its own set processes.

This systemic issues is what the agency is trying to cure with the training that has been tailored majorly to correct the mistakes pointed out by the Chief Justice David Maraga-led court.

“We have made presidential elections results path more clearer, with clear protocols and procedures,” IEBC communications manager said of the planned training.

Since presidential elections are done at the constituencies and its results final, the IEBC has done away with its 47 county returning officers and their deputies who usually play no role in the process.

The constituency returning officers will be re-trained on filling of the results declaration forms, polling procedures and the process of securing election materials, a training manual by the IEBC shows.

Today’s training comes after an early one that happened two weeks ago, and which will be followed by training of support electoral trainers in the 47 counties.

The support trainers will then train the 40,883 presiding officers and their deputies, after which the over 300,000 polling clerks will be trained.