Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati has appointed Vice Chair Consolata Nkatha Maina as the Deputy Returning Officer ahead of Thursday's presidential election.
Mr Chebukati Gazetted the appointment on Tuesday stating:"In exercise of the powers confirmed by Articles 88 (4)and 138 (10) of the Constitution of Kenya, Section 11 of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Act, 2011, sections 38 and 39 (ID) of the Elections Act, 2011 and Regulation 3,83 (1)(h) and (4) and 87(3) of the Elections (General) Regulations, 2012.
"The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission appoints Consolata N.B. Maina as the Deputy National Returning Officer for the conduct of the fresh presidential election to be held on 26th October 2017," he announced.
[caption caption="The Gazette Notice"]
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Kenyans online termed the move as suspicious, questioning the legitimacy of the gazettement.
However, IEBC defended the appointment as a routine procedure before any elections are held.
[caption caption="IEBC's response"]
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Moreover, the IEBC announced new measures that will be taken to ensure that there are no irregularities on the result transmission forms in the repeat presidential poll.
Issuing a statement on Tuesday, the electoral body explained that the Forms 34A, would only be accepted as authentic if scanned and sent.
The Commission has cautioned that the Presiding Officers (POs) will not be allowed to send in the presidential results as text messages.
In the new measures, Forms 34B will also have to be scanned and sent in from the constituencies to the national tallying centre.
The IEBC will then upload all scanned and duly signed forms 34A and 34B to the electoral body's public portal where members of the public will be able to access them.
"Unlike in the last poll, scanned images of result forms will be given priority over text. All forms 34As&Bs will be on the public portal," the IEBC announcement read.
[caption caption="IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati"]
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POs will also be required to key in the results onto the Kenya Integrated Electoral Management System (KIEMS) then proceed to deliver the forms physically to the Constituency tallying centre.
