Pellets carrying the presidential ballot papers at the factory on 29 July, 2017. IEBC is on spot over printing of extra 1.2 million presidential ballot papers. [Photo: standardmedia.co.ke]Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Commissioner Dr Rosslyn Akombe has sought to explain the concerns raised by Thirdway Alliance presidential candidate Ekuru Aukot.Aukot says he is concerned about the extra 1.2 million presidential ballot papers printed by Dubai firm, Al Ghurair Printing and Publishing.Although the electoral commission has consistently defended the printing of one per cent more ballot papers than the registered voters, Dr Aukot says the extra ballot papers are a cause for concern.However, through an opinion piece on Tuesday's Daily Nation, Akombe has enumerated six reasons explaining why none of the extra ballot papers will make their way to the ballot boxes or be used in other polling stations.First, unlike in the 2013 elections, the ballot papers and results forms have been customised per polling station. It is not possible to use ballot materials not meant for that polling station.Second, at the opening of the polling station, the presiding officer shows the agents the number of ballot papers issued and records them in the polling day diary, complete with the unique serial numbers. At the end of polling, the officer records the number of unused ballot papers and provides the same to the agents.Third, at three-hour intervals on the polling day, the presiding officer reports to the returning officer the number of ballots issued and the IEBC tracks this against the voter turn-out at that particular time. Any inconsistencies will be detected immediately and action taken against the presiding officers, in case of electoral offences.Fourth, the Kenya Integrated Elections Management System (Kiems) gadgets cannot allow a presiding officer to transmit more results than the number of registered voters in a polling station. This ensures that there is no ballot stuffing and that any attempts to manipulate the system will fail.Fifth, the regulations are clear that the IEBC will annul results from any polling station that has more than the number of registered voters.This means that even in the worst case scenario of the failure of Kiems, ballot stuffing is mitigated against.Lastly, the agents of each party or candidate have a responsibility to ensure that these things do not happen."As Kenyans call on the IEBC to ensure free and fair elections, it is important that we hold accountable agents and observers in each polling station and I urge them to carry out their part of responsibility with utmost professionalism," writes Akombe.

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