IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati at a past media briefing. [Photo/The Star]
The IEBC will on Wednesday meet with key stakeholders to brief them on the security measures it has put in place to ensure credible polls.
Among those the Wafula Chebukati-led commission will meet include presidential candidates as it seeks to assure them that the August 8 exercise will be credible.
"I have invited presidential candidates or their senior party officials on Wednesday to discuss security arrangements in place for the general election," said Chebukati when he met with top security officers in Nairobi.
The officers who attended the briefing included IG Joseph Boinnet, his two deputies; Samuel Arachi and Joel Kitili, Director of Criminal Investigations Ndegwa Muhoro as well as heads of the National Intelligence Service, Prisons, Kenya Forest Service, Kenya Wildlife Service and the National Youth Service.
"We wanted to hear from them on the reliability of the kits and a commissioner demonstrated how it will work. If there will be any confusion and chaos, IEBC will be to blame," an official privy of the meeting told the Standard.
Commissioner Paul Kurgat said IEBC was upbeat batteries for the kits will work up to eight hours, adding that each of the kits has a power bank that can last for 16 hours.
"There will be three stand-by kits for each of the country's 1,450 wards to supplement any that may fail. We have confidence the process will be successful," he said.
Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho revealed of planned meetings between the IEBC, security chiefs and presidential aspirants and members of the diplomatic community on Wednesday.
"We shall then meet political parties, civil society and media at the Kenya School of Government to outline security measures in place as per the IEBC request," added Kibicho.
He said they had also identified and mapped out hotspots in insecurity-prone regions, and have made contingency preparations to ensure successful elections.
"It is our work to secure all Kenyans while it's IEBC’s duty to conduct elections. Our mandate is to ensure IEBC is facilitated to distribute election materials and also secure their officials. If an area is not safe to transport by road, we shall advise the IEBC appropriately," he said.