Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati on Tuesday skipped a meeting with four IEBC Commissioners.
The IEBC officials had organised meetings with various observer groups at the Bomas of Kenya and were involved in the same for the better part of the day.
Mr Chebukati opted to meet with the observers in a separate room as the same group met elsewhere with four commissioners - Consolata Maina, Paul Kurgat, Abdi Guliye, and Boya Molu.
Commissioner Margaret Mwachanya, who is said to be the remaining official who supports the Chairman, was conspicuously absent from the National Tallying Centre.
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[caption caption="IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati"]
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"The Chairman asked us to proceed with the meetings as he was handling other issues. I am not aware that he has refused to meet or share a podium with us," Vice Chair Consolata Maina explained as she noted that Mwachanya had called in sick.
Asked why the Chairman had separately met with the leader of the AU Observers, former South African President Thambo Mbeki, Ms Maina owned up that she had made the suggestion.
"I advised him (Mbeki) to reach out to the chairman and I think he called him and they agreed where to meet," Consolata stated.
The newly appointed Deputy National Returning Officer also revealed that Mr Chebukati had not yet disclosed details of his deliberations with President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday.
"He has yet to brief us but that does not stop us from preparing for the elections. We have met observer groups and security chiefs to brief them. We are still meeting this evening and probably will brief the country today (Tuesday).
"We are not postponing elections in any part of the country. The security chiefs have mapped hot-spots where extra deployment will be required to protect our staff, election materials and equipment. We are again meeting to review that mapping," the Vice Chair assured.
Read More: Details of Uhuru's Private Meeting With Chebukati
[caption caption="President Uhuru Kenyatta with IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati"]
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Sources privy to the Secretariat's deliberations have suggested that the rift between the Commissioners and the Chairman is due to differences on whether the repeat poll should be postponed with Mr Chebukati being a proponent of the idea.
