The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) election materials were damaged on Monday, August 8, while being transported to the Tharaka Nithi Tallying Center.
Residents complained and raised an alarm after discovering that some of the materials were tagged as belonging to the Garissa county Fifa constituency.
The electoral materials in issue, according to the regional IEBC official, were stopped on their route to the Igambang’ombe tallying center, from which they would have been distributed to the polling stations.
“The materials that were intercepted are ones which were in deficit which we had requested from Nairobi. They had arrived this morning and were headed to Tharaka centre from where the returning and presiding officers would transfer them to the polling stations,” the IEBC official explained.
As the Commission works against the clock to send election materials to various regions of the country in preparation for the elections, the Tharaka episode is just one of several that the media has covered. Election papers being mixed up is one occurrence that has raised fears that might cause delays when polls open at 6am on Tuesday, August 9.
There was uncertainity in the coastal region after Kilifi County polling papers were found in Mombasa County.
