Official campaigns for 8th August general elections will start on May 28, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has said.
This is despite the ongoing presidential campaigns already ongoing in the country. The electoral body’s chairperson Wafula Chebukati says all measures have been put in place, to ensure the exercise will be above board.
“I am told what is happening now is not campaigns. It is people selling party policies,” said Mr Chebukati, as he defended what has been alleged to be presidential campaigns. Some individuals have moved to court to challenge the ongoing campaigns.
Among the key initiatives, he says, there will be 47 electoral managers, who will work closely with county security bosses unlike in 2013 where the commission had 17 coordinators.
In the past, he said, the commission only interacted with security officers a day before the polls day but this time, they will be trained together with his electoral team, in an exercise set to start next week.
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He spoke during the launch of the Elections Security Arrangement project, that will see 180,000 security and electoral officers, trained ahead of the August polls.
The project, he said, will enhance the cooperation between police, public, IEBC and other Independent commissions, “in promoting and ensuring the security of the campaigns period through best practices in negotiated public order management.”
Through the training, he said, they hope to enhance their investigating skills and prosecution of electoral offenders in the country and, “promoting joint election risk assessment and response to these risk factors.”
It will also promote public participation in promoting security during the electioneering period. During the launch of the security project, key institutions like the Directorate of Public Prosecutions, the National Police Service were represented.
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