Deputy President, William Ruto, and his adjacent foe of the Azimio La Umoja One Kenya Alliance, Raila Odinga, have sent delegates to Greece to inspect the printing of presidential ballot papers.
The duo sent their representatives on the night of Tuesday, July 19, to verify the printing process and make doubly sure to avoid blunders that would prompt chaos.
The other two presidential contenders, David Waihiga Mwaure and George Wajackoya, either did not have any agents or did not designate any to accompany IEBC representatives to Europe.
According to Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commissioner (IEBC) Juliana Whonge Cherera, all four presidential candidates were given the opportunity to choose representatives to travel to Greece with the commissioners to oversee the ballot printing process.
Meanwhile, the officials are expected to visit Inform Lykos S.A company, which was contracted to print ballot papers.
Raila dispatched attorney Velma Maumo and former journalist Ben Agina, but Kenya Kwanza withheld the identities of the two agents who accompanied the IEBC officials.
However, the agents and IEBC officials were supposed to leave for Greece on Friday last week but could not comply due to visa delays.
Raila Odinga’s chief agent, Saitabao Ole Kanchory, noted that Azimio representatives had been given assurance that the ballot papers would be secure and the photos of the running mate had been printed with regards to the High Court ruling.
The court had ruled earlier that the images of presidential and gubernatorial running mates be included on the ballot papers, following a successful petition by lawyer Mugambi Imanyara.
Cherera said the commission had complied with the ruling and assured the media that it would promote critical information for the media during the polls.
“IEBC is committed to enabling the media access to information and promoting the critical role that the media plays in ensuring a free, fair, and credible election,” she said.
A list of the items the IEBC wants the party agents to keep an eye on, including security features on the ballots and the necessity of doing due diligence on the deficit and the amount of ballot printing inside the firm, has been sent to them by the IEBC.
