The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has been taken to Court by Activist Okiya Omtatah over a plan to re-use election kits contrary to the law.
According to the Activist, the commission is planning to reconfigure the kits used in the bungled August 8 polls against the law which requires election materials to be preserved for three years.
“Contrary to the clear provisions of the law, IEBC instead of procuring new KIEMs kits for the repeat presidential elections, plans to re-configure the ones used in the nullified elections which will effectively destroy data stored in the gadgets,” says Mr Omtatah.
Omtatah argued that IEBC has an obligation to protect the Kenya Integrated Elections Management Systems (KIEMs) kits alongside all other election materials including; ballot boxes, papers, counterfoils, envelopes and other documents used in the August elections.
According to the Activist, the decision to reconfigure the KIEMs kits is unconstitutional and must be stopped, adding that the polls agency would be outrightly violating the law should they decide to reconfigure the KIEMS kits.
“Election materials are preserved because members of the public may want to look at the materials for purposes which include the credibility in the conduct of the elections without necessarily seeking a determination from the courts,” says Mr Omtatah.
The Constitution provides that all election materials shall be kept by the returning officer for a period of three years after the results of the elections.
Mr Omtatah wants the court to issue an order temporarily blocking the IEBC from publicly declaring that it would reconfigure the KIEMS kits for reuse.
He also wants the case to be certified as urgent.
