Wafula Chebukati, the chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), has vowed to act inimitably if necessary.
Speaking at a gathering yesterday, Chebukati said that he would be required to postpone elections in some districts because of the current legal proceedings.
As they fight legal battles, he pointed out that the commission was running out of time.
He claimed that because of this, it will be challenging for them to get ready for the election, necessitating the necessity to postpone voting in the impacted districts.
“We will be compelled to halt elections in those places where court rulings have an impact on the printing of ballot papers if they (court issues) are not resolved in good time for any reason. As a commission, we cannot wait indefinitely. On August 9, elections must be held, he stated.
The discoveries come at a time when the IEBC is being sued in a number of cases.
For instance, in Mombasa, the court has temporarily halted the printing of ballot papers for the Mombasa governor’s seat pending the outcome of a petition brought by candidate Mike Mbuvi Sonko.
Sonko filed a lawsuit to challenge the IEBC’s decision to disqualify him from the race.
A lawsuit opposing Senator Johnson Sakaja’s authorization to run for governor has also been submitted to a Nairobi court.
This comes in response to a voter’s allegation that the senator’s Teams University degree is a fake.
Due to these cases, the IEBC has paused the printing of ballot papers in order to account for any modifications that might be made as a result of a court decision.
