The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Thursday announced that all political parties would be allowed to set up parallel tallying centres.
IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati stated that political parties and media houses would be allowed to monitor and tally election results for their own reference.
Chebukati, however, emphasised that only the IEBC was mandated to announce election results and as such no other parties would be allowed to make any contrary announcements.
Mr Chebukati also addressed the issue of ODM Party nominations indicating that the commission would consult and get back to the party by Friday evening. On Wednesday, Chebukati had termed the nominations illegal as the electoral body had not gazetted the list of aspirants.
The IEBC boss stated that the commission would not tolerate violence in the party primaries and directed the political parties to encourage their members to desist from conduct that is likely to cause violence.
The chairperson spoke shortly after a meeting with the National Super Alliance(NASA) principals to discuss contentious issues that were affecting the Opposition coalition.
Last week, Chebukati had indicated that no one would be allowed to have a parallel tallying centre since the commission was the sole agency mandated to handle election matters.
The Opposition had on their part indicated that they would have their own parallel tallying centre to enhance election credibility. The matter caused uproar in the political scene as the Jubilee party termed the move as illegal and baseless.
Here is a statement of resolution on IEBC and NASA agreement.
The Commission and NASA coalition discuss a range of issues on election preparation, agree on a 9-point way forward pic.twitter.com/DLntmREOPt
— IEBC (@IEBCKenya) April 6, 2017
