The National Super Alliance (NASA) on Monday filed a case against the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in a bid to push for the use of electronic identification and transmission of results in the coming polls.
In the suit, NASA argued that IEBC does not have much time to come up with a backup mechanism ahead of the August 8 elections.
Responding to the matter, IEBC lawyer Paul Nyamondi asked the Opposition to refer the matter to Chief Justice David Maraga arguing that issues relating the manner in which voters will be identified and transmitted are weighty and should be not be decided by a single judge.
"These are important weighty issues of law and we request to certify the matter under section 165 (4),” Nyamondi highlighted.
According to IEBC, Section 19 of the Elections Act requires that the electoral body puts in place a complementary mechanism for identification of voters and transmission of results.
Section 109 of Elections Act 2011 further states that the said mechanism ought to be approved by Parliament at least 60 days before the General Election.
NASA, however, stated that with less that 28 days to the polls, there was no evidence that the Commission had complied with the mentioned provisions.
The Alliance's lawyer Ben Sihanya opposed the application to refer the matter to the Chief Justice noting IEBC ought to follow the required guidelines and the issues could be resolved by a single judge.
High Court Judge John Mativo, however, ruled that it would be in the interest of justice that the Chief Justice appoints a wider bench to hear the case.
Justice Mativo directed IEBC to respond to the suit by close of business Tuesday, July 11.
