Puzzle of Form 34A ‘signed’ by Uhuru and Raila
A Form 34A from a polling station in Embu County has the party agents listed as President Uhuru Kenyatta and Nasa’s Raila Odinga, complete with signatures.
The form that was uploaded on the electoral commission’s portal is from Kathugu Primary School polling station in Kagaari South ward, Runyenjes constituency in Embu County.
On the party agents section, the ODM and Jubilee party agents who were present indicated the names of their candidates; Odinga and Kenyatta.
The agents, however, filled their respective ID numbers, phone numbers and appended their signatures.
This has raised eyebrows.
IEBC communication manager Andrew Limo said the candidates are only allowed to sign if present in the particular polling station during tallying.
“The agents cannot sign on behalf of a candidate and should instead write their names and not those of the candidates. I think this was an error which the presiding officer should have avoided by guiding the agents on the names to write,” Mr Limo told Nairobi News.
The presiding officers were also required to stamp the forms but some failed to do so including the officer at Kathugu Primary School.
“We are auditing and reviewing the process to check which officers failed to do what they were required to do. The stamping was a way to ensure authenticity although we used other ways to confirm the forms were authentic,” he added.
The law does not invalidate any electoral process if political party agents are unavailable.
In the case of Kathugu, only two agents signed the form with the error of indicating their candidates’ names as opposed to their own.
The presiding officer, listed as Ezekiel Mugendi Ireri commented right below the agents section, “some agents had already left the station during counting.”
