Ballot papers for Kenya's presidential elections next month have been printed after last week's nominations, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) announced Tuesday (February 5th).

"Ballot papers will arrive well in time before the elections; the printers have confirmed the dates and the aircraft that will transport them," said IEBC chief executive James Oswago, according to Kenya's Capital FM. The estimated 120 million ballots will be shipped to Kenya on hired cargo planes.

Smith and Ouzman, the British firm contracted to print ballot papers for the March 4th general elections, will now begin printing ballots for the other contests, Oswago said.

Oswago added that ballot box distribution was nearly complete. "We have been getting transparent ballot boxes and we have transferred them to the regions. We have about 47,000 boxes still to be delivered," he said.

Eight presidential candidates are on the ballots: Prime Minister Raila Odinga, Deputy Prime Minister Uhuru Kenyatta, Deputy Prime Minister Musalia Mudavadi, parliamentarian Martha Karua, Assistant Minister for Planning, National Development and Vision 2030 Peter Kenneth, former Education Permanent Secretary James ole Kiyiapi, former parliamentarian Paul Muite, and businessman Mohammed Abduba Dida.