An IEBC official at a polling station during the 2013 general elections. [Photo/ npr.org]The process of vote tallying on August 8 should be complete by 9pm, Kakamega Senator Bonny Khalwale has told the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).Khalwale said counting of votes beyond 9pm provides ground for vote rigging particularly through ballot stuffing.He said IEBC should ensure its officers are properly trained to work efficiently on voting day.The former Ikolomani MP said the opposition is determined to close all avenues for stealing the election.He was speaking during Citizen Television’s Power Breakfast show on Thursday.“We expect that by 9pm on August 8, we shall have finished the process of vote counting at polling stations,” the outspoken senator said expressing confidence the National Super Alliance (NASA) will win the poll.During the 2007 disputed presidential election, ODM leader Raila Odinga claimed the Party of National Unity (PNU) led by then president Mwai Kibaki capitalized on delayed vote counting in specific regions to rig the election.Raila disputed the presidential results plunging the country into Post-Election Violence that led to the killing of over 1,300 people with over 600,000 displaced.In 2007 and 2013, the process of vote counting after closure of polling stations at 6pm went for more than twelve hours in some polling stations.Khalwale said the electronic devices IEBC will dispatch to polling stations should be able to relay results immediately after vote counting.Raila will be taking on President Uhuru Kenyatta during the poll which political analysts say will be the most competitive since independence.

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