Mombasa — The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has assured Mombasa residents that they are ready for the gubernatorial elections slated for Monday.
On August 9, IEBC postponed the Mombasa gubernatorial election for Mombasa and Kakamega following a mix-up on the ballot papers. The election was rescheduled for August 23, but IEBC chair Wafula Chebukati moved the date further citing harassment and intimidation of his officials.
Last week Monday, the IEBC and the candidates agreed to have the election date set for August 29 during a meeting in Bomas of Kenya, Nairobi.
Mombasa County IEBC Returning Officer Swalha Yusuf on Saturday said they are ready for Monday's election, which will see seven candidates battling it up to take over from Governor Hassan Joho, who has served his two five-year constitutional terms.
The ODM candidate Abdulswamad Nassir and Hassan Omar of UDA are the front-runners.
Speaking during a press conference at the IEBC offices in Mombasa, Swalha said they have all the materials in place and the poll officials have been trained and are ready for the exercise.
She said adequate security has been deployed in all the 1,047 polling stations.
"We have made necessary arrangements to ensure security is beefed up in all the areas perceived to be hotspots," he said.
Yusuf said IEBC conducted a reshuffle of poll officials at the ward and the constituency level within the entire county to ensure free and fair election.
Sign up for free AllAfrica Newsletters
Get the latest in African news delivered straight to your inbox
The decision to reshuffle the poll officials was reached after most of the candidates requested for that to be effected before the polls, according to Yusuf.
"Most of our candidates suggested that the poll officials are reshuffled and the IEBC chairman instructed that the reshuffle takes place. Where there were challenges we were to consider the same officials, but Mombasa being a small county, we have managed to reshuffle all of them," she said.
She said the do not expect the electoral process to take long because it will only be a single ballot box and they have been having continuous engagement with all the candidates to ensure a smooth election.
"We do not expect chaos from any of the candidates or their supporters. We have been in constant communication with them and they know their role and what they're expected to do," she said.
The national government has declared Monday a holiday in Mombasa and Kakamega and other regions where elections did not take place on August 9.
Yusuf said all the polling stations will be opened at 6 am and closed at 5 pm.
However, she said the tallying centres which were in schools, will be moved to other places after IEBC received a directive from the Ministry of Education that all tallying centres be moved out if from schools. "The tallying centres in Jomvu which was located in Mikindani Primary School has been changed to Mikindani Social Hall. Another tallying centre in Mvita, which was at Allidina Visram has been moved to SwahiliPot Hub," she said.
