A string of litigation and delays in gazettement of electoral regulations threaten the smooth preparations for Kenya’s general election, with the electoral body having no margin for error in the countdown to the August 8 poll.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) had revised its timelines late last month before the new schedule was jolted by two High Court rulings that set off concerns among some Members of Parliament that the Judiciary was not considering the bigger picture in its rulings.

The electoral body has suffered at least three major blows in recent weeks — extension of mass voter registration, cancellation of ballot printing tender, suspension of audit of voter register — which all have implications for the roadmap to the August 8 election.

However, the IEBC is optimistic that it will pull out all stops to conduct election as scheduled, despite the setbacks, which it hopes will be corrected by the Appellate Court.

“For now, much as the ruling is a setback, we are not thinking of reviewing the timelines. Despite the challenges, all stops will be pulled out to ensure a smooth process and credible outcomes,” said Andrew Limo, IEBC’s communications manager.

The amendment to the electoral laws in early January forced the commission to review the timelines but it will have to wait for parliament to pass regulations that make the law operational. This according to the commission, is likely to take place next month. Key among the regulations is the gazettement of rules that will be applied to come up with a complementary voter identification systems.

The ruling Jubilee Alliance Party and the opposition coalition had locked horns over the amendment of electoral laws that had been negotiated last year to end a crisis caused by mass action to push for the resignation of the election commissioners.

While the government wanted a manual system to complement the biometric voter identification of voters, the opposition wanted exclusive use of the electronic system. Parliament is now expected to debate regulations on how the complementary systems will be applied and endorse their gazettement.

From February 20, political parties are expected to initiate the process towards party primaries, which will start with submissions on nomination rules to the electoral body. They will then submit party membership list between March 9 and March 19, submit names of candidates for the primaries. The parties are expected to pick their candidates between April 19 and April 26.

This will culminate in the submission of party lists of candidates to the electoral commission on June 24. The final agenda will be the printing of ballot papers.

According to Mr Limo, the electoral body is now racing against time in the wake of a court ruling that cancelled a ballot printing tender awarded to a Dubai-based company.

“The ballot tender was sourced early because from the 2013 experience we did not want to have many activities related to the procurement coming too close to voting day,” said Mr Limo.

It is against this backdrop that civil society has warned that the electoral body may not be ready to conduct the elections as planned.

But according to Prof Yash Pal Ghai, a constitutional expert and chairman of the Katiba Institute, the challenge is not about technology but integrity among those entrusted with conducting the polls. “Elections are not about correct equipment but the correct frame of mind to conduct credible elections,” said Prof Ghai.