IEBC specifies voting requirements

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has maintained that it will not accept voters' cards during the August 8 General Election.

Only original national ID cards and valid passports will be used to verify voters, IEBC said in Kisumu on Thursday.

The commission further clarified that those who registered as voters using their passports would not be allowed to vote using the national IDs and vice versa.

"Those who registered using waiting cards and did not later change their details to the identification card number will also be locked out of voting," said Kisumu Deputy County Returning Officer Edwin Nyakoyo during an IEBC stakeholders' meeting at Tom Mboya Labour College.

Those in need of assistance during voting and who indicated so during the voter verification period will be allowed to take someone along to assist them.

The assistant must be Kenyan, above 18 years of age, and must sign a secrecy oath in the presence of a presiding officer. They too are expected to have their national ID cards.

Election guidelines

Mr Nyakoyo urged voters to adhere to the set election guidelines for a peaceful process, adding that the staff overseeing the process were fully trained.

"We are looking forward to a free and fair election and request the public to adhere to the set rules and regulations for the voting process to run smoothly. Any form of malpractice should be avoided. Our systems will instantly identify any voter who tries to vote twice and legal action will be taken," he warned.