IEBC Protests TSC Barring of Teachers From Manning Elections
The Teachers Service Commission’s (TSC) decision to prohibit teachers from presiding over elections in Makueni County will have a negative impact on the overall management of the exercise in the area.
As a result, Maurice Raria, the County Elections Manager, criticized TSC’s decision to eject teachers from the ongoing training of Support Election Trainers (SETs) at the Makueni Boys High School hall where the session was being held.
He stated that training for SETs, Logistical Officers, and ICT clerks began on July 25th and will continue until July 28th, 2022, after which they will train both Presiding Officers (POs) and Deputy Presiding Officers (DPOs) between July 31st and August 3rd, this year.
“If we don’t have teachers serving as POs, then we will miss half of this crucial human resource, thus jeopardizing the entire exercise,” said Raria, while speaking during National Government County Service Delivery Coordination Committee (NGCSDCC) meeting, chaired by the County Commissioner (CC), Gilbert Kitiyo, in his Wote Boardroom, Tuesday.
He also informed the meeting that the TSC had previously assured the IEBC of their unequivocal support after the latter had allowed teachers to be recruited to work during the August 9 polls.
“As IEBC, we had initially hesitated to engage teachers, but when we were later on assured by the TSC that it would be okay, we went ahead and recruited them,” he said.
In response to the claims, the County Commissioner urged the area Returning Officer to write a letter to the TSC Headquarters through their Makueni office, which would then be escalated to Nairobi in order to resolve the issue amicably.
While stating that counting and polling clerk training will take place on the 5th and 6th of August, Raria requested vehicles from local department heads, particularly those with lorries, to allow the electoral body to transport election materials to the six constituency warehouses across the County.
“We have received ballot boxes, polling boots and gas lamps which need to be taken to be relocated to constituencies. If we wait up to the last minute, there will be a problem,” he added.
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On security, he stated that he has already met with security agencies, which will be critical in staffing all 1,130 polling stations.
IEBC Protests TSC Barring of Teachers From Manning Elections
