IEBC sets new date for fresh presidential poll
The fresh presidential election will now be held on October 26 and not 17 as had earlier been scheduled.
The new date was communicated by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Thursday evening, a day after Supreme Court judges issued a detailed judgment on the annulled August 8 results.
“There’s no doubt that the judgment impacts on the election operations and in particular technology to be deployed,” said IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati.
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“In order to ensure that the commission is fully prepared to deliver an election that meets the standards set out by the Supreme Court, we wish to notify the public and all stakeholders that the fresh presidential election shall now be held on Thursday, 26th October, 2017.”
The supreme court judges ordered a re-run after finding that IEBC had committed illegalities and irregularities. The electoral body had set aside October 17 as the date for the rerun but has now rescheduled it after French company Safran Morpho said the new technology will be ready by October 26.
Nasa leader Raila Odinga has, however, maintained that the opposition will only go to an election it is assured will be free and fair and has presented a list of what it call irreducible minimums to IEBC.
Top among them is the sacking of CEO Ezra Chiloba and several other top officials, who it accuses of bungling the August 8 polls.