Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has cleared about 12,000 candidates to run in the March 4th general election, Kenya's Daily Nation reported on Thursday (February 7th).

The names of the cleared candidates have already been included in the printed paper ballots, IEBC Chairman Ahmed Issack Hassan said. The final list will be made public on Friday.

About 86 million ballots are being printed, and voters will fill out six separate ballots to elect the president, governors, senators, members of parliament, county women representatives and ward representatives.

The African Union Panel of Eminent African Personalities commended the IEBC for successfully preparing for the polls, but urged testing of all voting systems before the election to ensure smooth voting.

IEBC Chief Executive Officer James Oswago made assurances that the voting systems had been tested and were ready for the elections.

"There should be no doubt," he said. "We are fully prepared for the elections and the systems we have put in place will not fail."