Confusion as ballot papers meant for Meru prison land in Kabarnet

Bewilderment engulfed Kabarnet polling station in Baringo County on Tuesday after the station received the ballot papers meant for Meru prison in Meru County.

Citizen Digital established that by 1pm the exercise had commenced on both stations, with 46% of the total registered voters in Kabarnet having cast their ballots.

Presiding officers said they were still expecting more turnout in the area.

Elsewhere in Dadaab Constituency, Garissa County, voting had not begun by noon and four polling stations had not been opened.

IEBC stated that they are working on addressing security challenges in the area, and if the stalemate is not solved today, the polls could be conducted tomorrow.

On the failure of KIEMS kits, the commission reported that 200 machines had technical errors. It also permitted the use of manual voter registers in Makueni and Kakamega Counties.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) confirmed that 6,567,869 Kenyans had turned out to vote as of Tuesday noon.

In a press briefing at the Bomas of Kenya, the commission said that the people that had voted by the time only accounted for 30.65% of the 22,120,458 voters who are expected to partake in the General Election.

The percentage of Kenyans that had turned up to vote at noon – 6 hours after polling stations were opened and 5 hours before they close – was below half the total number of registered voters.