First batch of ballot papers for repeat poll arrive in Nairobi

Police officers man ballot papers for the August 8 election after they were offloaded from a Saudi Cargo Plane at JKIA on the night of July 19. /PATRICK VIDIJA
Police officers man ballot papers for the August 8 election after they were offloaded from a Saudi Cargo Plane at JKIA on the night of July 19. /PATRICK VIDIJA

The first batch of ballot papers for the October 26 repeat election arrived in the country on Saturday night.

The Etihad plane carrying the consignment touched down at the JKIA at around 8:30pm.

The papers are for ten counties and those to be used by voters in the Diaspora.

IEBC officials said they prioritized the ten counties that are furthest from Nairobi to avoid delays on election day.

They include Marsabit, Wajir, Isiolo, Mandera, Garissa, Samburu, Turkana and Laikipia.

The second batch of the ballot papers will arrive on Monday at 5pm.

The cargo will contain ballot papers for 22 counties.

The third and final batch of the consignment for 15 counties will arrive on Tuesday at 10 am.

All tranches of the poll material are accompanied with KIEMS forms and the Polls Results Management (PRM) checklist.

The papers have been printed by Dubai-based Al Ghurair Security and Printing Company.

IEBC officials said security features on all the papers have been enhanced to guard against forgeries.

This includes the inclusion of bar-codes on all the ballot papers and the PRM checklists.

The PRM checklists are where Returning Officers will note down the number of agents present, those who signed the results forms and those who failed to sign and why.

The paper material has also been improved to ensure scanning churns out clear copies prior to transmission.

All forms 34A also contain the name of the specific polling station where they are supposed to be used.

This means a form meant for a particular polling station cannot be used to record election results in a different polling station without raising eye-brows.

During its September 1 ruling that nullified the August 8 presidential election, Supreme Court judges noted that some forms 34A were forgeries, were never signed or appeared to be carbon copies of the originals.

Some were also found to have no bar codes and water marks.

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