Nairobi — Deputy President William Ruto has reiterated that he trusts anyone working at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) as long as they are competitively recruited.
Speaking during a consultative meeting with the electoral body and presidential candidates on Wednesday, the Kenya Kwanza flag-bearer stated that he would not be worried even if Raila Odinga's brother was the chairperson of the commission.
"I want to categorically state here that as Kenya Kwanza we have no problem with any Kenyan working under any capacity so long as they were competitively recruited. We do not care about the tribe, all we care about is competence," he stated.
His remarks came shortly after Azimio Chief Agent Kanchory Saitabao raised concerns that most of the returning officers in various counties were from one community.
He however did not mention the community but added that one of the four presidential candidates belong to that particular community.
"We have evidence and we will be writing to you formally on the issue of returning officers. We have gathered that most of the returning officers are from one community and people are complaining especially is some parts of Western and Nyanza region," Saitabao said.
In a quick rejoinder, IEBC Commissioner Abdi Guliye and IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati dismissed Saitabao's claims and urged him not to politicize the commission and its staff.
"Those are unsubstantiated claims and I want to assure you all that most of our retuning officers are people who are employed permanently and pensionable and some have been at the commission since 2012. We do not work for any community but for all Kenyans and therefore I would urge you to refrain from politicizing our staff. We will protect them under all cost," Guliye said.
Chebukati said, "The Commission is the face of Kenya, no tribe preference but a commission made up of competent officers who are ready to serve all Kenyans and ensure a credible election."
The electoral body was meeting candidates who included Ruto, Azimio La Umoja candidate Raila Odinga, George Wajakoyah of the Roots Party and David Waihiga Mwaure of the Agano Party.
The meeting sought to clarify a number of issues that had raised regarding the commission's preparations for the election.
The main concern for the Azimio team was the announcement that IEBC would not use the manual voter register as the primary reference document having resorted to a digital voters' roll.
The Odinga-led team said they had doubts the electronic systems as technology may fail thus compromising the integrity of the polls.
"The physical register has never been a problem in the previous elections. We therefore do not understand why the commission does not want to use it to complement the digital one. We want the commission to assure us that we will not have bangled elections due to poor technology," Azimio Chief Agent, Kanchory Saitabao, said.
Their competitors from Kenya Kwanza and the Agano Party registered a difference opinion, expressing confidence in the electronic register.
Ruto's UDA party was categorical that it preferred the register based on Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS) with IEBC assuring that the voters' roll on the network would still be accessible for purposes of voter identification even when the devices are offline.
Kenya Kwanza Chief Agent Josephat Nanok and Agano Party's David Mwaure said they would not mind a KIEMS-based identification provided there were safeguards in place to guarantee free, fair, credible and verifiable results.
"I have no issue with the electronic voter identification system. We are living in a digital error and only a fool would choose manual system over electronic if given an option," said Mwaure.
The Kenya Kwanza camp asked to be furnished with the KPMG audit report on the voters register and an assurance that the commission will take action against those who violently interrupt their campaigns.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
In his response, IEBC Chief Executive Officer Hussein Marjan said the commission is not ruling out the use of the manual register as a last resort mechanism.
The commission however noted that it was awaiting the outcome of a suit challenging the use of a KIEMS-based register before taking a final position.
IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati urged the aspirants to preach peace regardless of their political differences and ensure Kenya remains peaceful.
"Mine is to remind you that you are only competitors not enemies. Preach peace to your supporters and let us work together to have a peaceful election and remain peaceful even after the election," Chebukati urged.
A total of 22.1 million people have been registered as voters according to the electoral commission.
