Slight errors found after scrutiny of 9 presidential ballot boxes

Amid the scrutiny of nine presidential ballot boxes, slight errors were discovered where most polling stations lacked the second booklet of the Form 34A while others missed the IEBC stamp.

The assessment also confirmed that form 34A in the ballot box at the Majengo Primary School polling station was unfilled.

The results of the vote recount, however, showed that each presidential candidate’s figures matched those on the forms 34A that were uploaded to the IEBC portal.

The scrutiny of the presidential ballot boxes and the recounting of ballot papers from the disputed polling places found inconsistencies; however, they were not sufficiently substantial to raise concerns.

In the Wednesday, August 31 exercise, which was supervised by the registrar of the Supreme Court, Letizia Wachira, nine of the 45 ballot boxes were opened, scrutinized, and votes recounted.

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The nine boxes were from Majengo and Mvita Primary Schools in Mvita Constituency, Mombasa County.

During the exercise at Forodha House in Nairobi, it was found that the majority of polling stations were missing the second booklet of the forms 34A, which was supposed to be sealed and put in the boxes.

Also, in some ballot boxes, forms 34A used to identify those who had voted manually were missing.

The inspection also established that form 34A in the ballot box at Majengo Primary School polling station was blank, even though a filed form was uploaded on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) portal.

The ballot box from the said station’s first stream did not have Form 34A. In addition, the scrutiny showed that carbon copies of the original Form 34A from seven polling stations at Mvita Primary School delivered to the Bomas Tallying Center did not have official IEBC stamps.

In stream five of Mvita Primary School polling station, the ballot box had two forms 34A, which had different figures for the number of valid votes cast.

Also, the papers in stream seven were not sealed in a tamper-proof envelope as required.

However, after the recounting of votes, the numbers matched those in forms 34A that were uploaded on the IEBC portal.

As earlier reported, the Supreme Court ordered the electoral agency to avail the ballot papers for scrutiny in a petition challenging Kenya Kwanza Alliance presidential candidate Ruto’s win.

The polling stations required include Nandi Hills and Sinendeti Primary School in Nandi, Belgut, Kapsuser and Chepkutum Primary Schools in Kericho county, Jomvu, Mikindani and Ministry of Water Tanks in Mombasa County.

Others are Mvita, Majengo, and Mvita Primary School in Mombasa County; Tinderet in Nandi County; Jarok, Gathanji, and Kiheo Primary School in Nyandarua.