• County returning officer Joseph Ayata said the four electoral areas have been experiencing pockets of violence during the ongoing campaigns.
• Training of polling clerks to man the 1,685 polling stations will take place between August 5 and August 6.
Image: CALISTUS LUCHETU
IEBC has identified Matungu, Malava, Navakholo and Khwisero constituencies as violence hotspots in Kakamega county during next month's polls.
County returning officer Joseph Ayata said the four electoral areas have been experiencing pockets of violence during the ongoing campaigns.
He attributed the tensions in the four constituencies to the high stakes that have triggered tough competition among candidates.
“Most of this violence is within the same political formations. Very little of the violence pits opposing political formations,” he said.
Matungu experienced violence during the parliamentary by-election to replace MP Justus Murunga (deceased) in February last year.
Last week, one person was stabbed in the constituency.
Ayata said his office has received complaints about some candidates being bedfellows with security agents.
Such cases have been reported in Khwisero and Navakholo constituencies, where subcounty security chiefs have been alleged to hold late-night meetings with specific candidates.
“It's a worrying situation but we're trying to see how we can deal with it to ensure peaceful election,” Ayata said.
He spoke during a meeting with non-state actors at the Kakamega county IEBC headquarters on Tuesday.
He said that 11 polling centres in the county are not covered by 3G mobile network and satellite phones will be used to relay results.
Safaricom and Airtel service providers are working to see if they can boost their coverage before the election.
The electoral agency has cleared and registered 683 candidates to contest various elective seats in the August polls.
There are 573 candidates for MCA, 89 for MP, seven for Senate, seven for woman rep and seven for governorship.
Sixty women will take part in the polls, two are running mates for governor candidates, two running for senator and seven for MP seats. Seven women will run for woman MP seat and 42 for MCA.
Training of polling clerks to man the 1,685 polling stations will take place between August 5 and August 6.