The High Court has blocked a tender awarded to KPMG for the audit of the voter register pending hearing and determination of a suit filed by Cord.
The opposition coalition told a court on Thursday that the IEBC exercised powers it does not have in awarding the tender.
Through lawyer Anthony Oluoch, the coalition further said the commission acted maliciously and did not engage stakeholders, including political parties.
Oluoch noted that stakeholders should have been consulted in designing the criteria and methodology for the audit.
“The intended audit of the register of voters is clouded with opaqueness, secrecy and lack accountability since no criteria for the audit has been disclosed to ensure the objectives set out in law are realized," reads the petition he filed.
The case, which was certified as urgent, will be heard on January 17.
KPMG was picked from 12 companies to scrutinise the 15.85 million listed voters.
The audit is meant to authenticate genuine voters in the register by weeding out ghost voters.
The process was sanctioned by Parliament following recommendations of a 14-member Joint Parliamentary Select Committee which agreed on an audit instead of fresh registration as had been proposed by the opposition side.
The firm
of the voter register last Friday, a process that will end on January 18, 2017.
IEBC chief executive Ezra Chiloba said the firm will submit a report to Parliament on February 1.
The methodology of the process has not been defined but Chiloba said it was a requirement of the new electoral laws.
KPMG is expected to apply some of the best practices used across the world in an attempt to clean up the register.
The law requires the IEBC to implement the audit's recommendations by February 17, two days after the end of the next mass voter registration exercise.
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