The Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission (IEBC) is hosting a three-day benchmarking tour for the Independent Electoral Commission of Botswana (IEC) in Nairobi (IEBC).

PHOTO | COURTESY The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of Botswana paid the Commission a courtesy visit to benchmark with Kenya's IEBC

To prepare for the General Election in 2024, members of the IEC will try to learn more about how the IEBC manages the electoral processes in Kenya.

As they step up their preparations for 2024, the IEBC announced that a 9-member team led by two IEC commissions would review potential areas of election process coordination.

The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) of Botswana paid the Commission a courtesy visit on Wednesday to examine potential areas of electoral process collaboration as they ramp up their preparation for the 2024 General Elections, according to the IEBC.

According to IEBC, IEC is also interested in knowing how voter registration happens, the methods used to verify voters' identities, their eligibility, the quality assurance procedures for their voter information, and how the Register of Voters was verified validated.

The management of the voter's roll, the voting procedure, the results transmission system (RTS), and control of the public portal that housed all 46,229 Form 34A were all explained to the Botswana delegation by IEBC Kenya, according to IEBC.

The IEC's visit, which serves as a vote of confidence in the IEBC, comes as Azimio leader Raila Odinga criticizes the electoral body.

Odinga's Demand

Notwithstanding the Supreme Court's affirmation of the presidential election, Odinga has refused to recognize President William Ruto and has called Ruto's victory fraudulent.

He gave the President Ruto administration a 14-day deadline to appoint new IEBC commissioners or face widespread protests on Wednesday.

After the announcement of seven openings at the Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission, he gets the job.

Three commissioners' terms—Wafula Chebukati (Chairperson), Boya Molu, and Yakub Guliye—ended, leaving the positions vacant.

Once Ruto established a tribunal to investigate their behaviour, three more people—Justus Nyang'aya, Francis Wanderi, and Vice Chairperson Juliana Cherera—resigned.

PHOTO | COURTESY IEBC 

Cherera, Wanderi, and Nyang'aya belonged to a dissident group that rejected the results of the presidential election and included Irene Masit.

During a protest in Nairobi's JeeVanje Gardens, Odinga said, "the ongoing process of reconstituting IEBC must halt immediately and that a bi-partisan taskforce must be established to reorganize IEBC in a manner that ends its monolithic operations."

Additionally, despite the Supreme Court having overseen a review of the election servers during an Odinga presidential appeal hearing, he sought their opening.