Voting in Eldas constituency was pushed to Wednesday after a meeting between top IEBC officials, the candidates and local poll officials.
Commissioner Abdullahi Guliye flew to Wajir on Tuesday for an urgent meeting with Jubilee candidate Adan Keynan, Ahmed Boray of ODM, the presiding officers and their deputies.
A reliable source said in the meeting, there was consensus on the electoral officials, which was the bone of contention.
Chaos erupted at the Eldas tallying centre on Monday night, leading to lighting of a fire outside the facility, with some individuals threatening to burn electoral materials. It is not yet clear who started the fire.
Gunshots rendered the air for the better part of Monday night as the police engaged the supporters of the two candidates in running battles.
Tension arose after it was alleged that some presiding officers and their deputies were planning to rig the polls.
By 1pm on Tuesday, voting had not yet started as tension remained high with the voting materials still locked.
"It's a normal day here in Eldas, nothing is going on because of the tension and standoff. We can only hope and pray that an amicable solution is found so that this very important exercise can start,"an officer told the Star earlier yesterday.
A senior security official blamed the IEBC for the standoff and distanced the security apparatus from the chaos.
“That is purely an IEBC matter and they should put their house in order. From our side, we have provided the required security. We hope and pray that an amicable solution is found soon,” he said.
But in a press briefing in Nairobi, commissioner Boya Molu distanced the IEBC from the incident terming it a security issue.
“Suspected militias have taken over and are fighting each other. We have sent a team from the commission to Wajir to try and sort out the issue," Molu said.
"So that voting can start later today or tomorrow, but we will give an update later."
(Edited by Tabnacha O)
