Hitches recorded in Kenya's presidential election, EC takes action

Kenya

Kenya’s presidential elections started smoothly on Tuesday morning but suffered a few problems which the electoral commission says it is addressing.

Voting started late in some polling stations due to late delivery of election materials. The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) attributed the delay to heavy rains that affected the transportation of the materials on time.

“Last night, in some parts of the country heavy downpours hampered transport such as Turkana North, Baringo and Samburu Counties. We have used helicopters to respond to these emerging issues. This caused delays in some of the polling stations,” IEBC said at a news briefing.

It also added that delays in the opening of polls in some parts of the capital Nairobi – Embakasi East, Kasarani and Westlands – have been addressed by replacing returning officers to ensure a faster process.

“We wish to assure you all that for the polling stations that opened late, we will compensate the time by extending the voting period by the same amount of hours that were lost before opening,” it added.

Some voters were not identified by the newly introduced biometric verification machines.

The IEBC said it has ordered its clerks to use the “alphanumeric identification, whereby they key in the voter ID number into the IEBC platform to confirm registration. We are also replacing some of the KIEMS kits.”

Some of the areas affected by technical issues include Wajir, Eldas, Isiolo, Dadaab, Borabu, and Fafi.

They urged Kenyans to remain calm and patient as they conduct the elections in a free and fair manner.

19.6 million Kenyans are voting at 40,883 polling stations in 290 constituencies and 47 counties. Voting ends at 5pm local time.

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