Distribution of ballot papers for mini polls starts

IEBC chairman Erastus Ethekon at JKIA receiving first batch of ballot papers for the by-elections. [Collins Oduor, Standard]

The Independent Elections and Boundary Commission (IEBC) has received ballot papers for the upcoming by-elections.

Speaking when he received the first batch of the papers at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Wednesday evening, IEBC chairman Erastus Ethekon said the distribution of the papers will start today.

The second batch of ballot papers to be used for the elections scheduled for late this month arrived last night.

“Some of them are destined for Baringo, for the senatorial seat. Some headed for Mbeere North,” said Mr Ethekon on Wednesday.

The IEBC boss said it is now all systems go since the commission has made all preparations to ensure that the by-elections, which are its first to conduct, go well and are completed successfully.

“We have already recruited our personnel, we have trained them and now we have procured materials. So we are beginning the process of distribution of these materials from this week. From Friday (today) the first batch will move to the various electoral areas,” Ethekon said.

He said transportation of the electoral materials will commence as soon as possible.

Far-flung areas

“By Friday, most of the materials will be dispatched. In some far-flung areas where we have challenges in terms of the infrastructure, security, we will dispatch some of these materials using aircraft,” he said.

Ethekon sought to assure Kenyans that the electoral materials, including the various ballot papers received at JKIA, are properly secured.

“They are sealed with security seals and we have security that will accompany them everywhere we are dispatching. We have our staff and the security officers who will accompany the materials to the various destinations,” Ethekon said.

Political parties’ officials were also present at JKIA to witness the arrival of the ballot papers.

He said the receiving of the papers was witnessed by political party officials in the spirit of transparency and accountability. Ethekon asked all eligible Kenyans in areas where the mini polls are scheduled on November 27 to come out in large numbers to exercise their sovereign will, their sovereign power, and their democratic rights to elect their political representatives who will lead them as the nation moves towards the next general election in 2027.

IEBC Commissioner Anne Nderitu, who is also the chairperson of the committee on election operations, said the ballot materials have been printed by Inform Lykos (Hellas) SA, a firm based in Athens, Greece.

“We have used about Sh27 million for printing because we are conducting 23 by-elections. Now they are 22 because we have no contest in one,” said Ms Nderitu.

The commissioner said there are 51 political parties that are participating in this by-election and all of them were invited to attend the receiving of the ballot papers. 

From JKIA, Nderitu said, the ballot papers would be taken to the main IEBC warehouse in Industrial Area before the transportation starts on Friday.

“The packaging is per pallet, per constituency, per ward and then all the way to the polling station. Those pallets will go to the respective constituencies or wards, all in the presence of political party agents, media and other stakeholders. The pallets will be broken the day before the elections,” Nderitu said.

Nderitu said the commission chose to fly in the ballot papers in two batches due to the question of packaging and availability of freights.

“ We chose to use two batches because space in the freight dictates how much we can bring in at a go. We are not chartering planes for these materials. So the space available dictates how much we can bring in in a day,” she said.