The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has said that the 2017 general elections will be conducted manually.
Speaking in response to a case where the court temporarily suspended the ballot paper printing tender, IEBC executive officer Ezra Chiloba revealed that Cord's allegations over how the general polls should be conducted are out of order.
Mr Chiloba said that the polls will be conducted manually because physical ballot papers will in any case be required in the voting process.
He defended the security as well as delivery tender award to the Al Ghurair Printing and Publishing Company.
“The misconception of Cord is that the General Election will be wholly electronic, it will substantially be manual and the goods subject to the procurement in point do meet tender requirements,” he said as quoted by Nation.
He added that the Elections Laws (Amendment) Act 2016 had come into effect on October 4, one month after the disputed tender for the ballot papers, forms for result declaration and poll registers was already closed.
“There is no logic in the proposition that the tender in question could have contravened the said law which was neither in force nor in existence,” he added.