Court of Appeal suspends decision on use of manual voters register

A three-judge bench issued the orders on Monday pending the hearing and determination of a petition filed by the Deputy President-led UDA party.

The UDA party claims in court documents obtained by Citizen.Digital that the use of the said register will jeopardize the integrity of the elections.

"The integrity of the general elections is likely to be compromised by the possibility of misuse of the manual voter register during elections since a manual register lacks safeguards of enhancing the credibility of elections," the court papers read. 

According to the UDA, serious conflict and confusion are likely unless the High Court decision issued on August 4 ordering the IEBC to use the manual register as the primary mode of identification is stayed.

"There will be the apparent and real likelihood of a serious conflict and confusion in terms of enforcement and implementation of law pertaining to the mode of identification of voters during the forthcoming general elections," the court papers read. 

The petitioner claims that the court of Appeal ordered the IEBC to use the printed register of voters only when the KIEMS kits completely fail with no possibility of repair or replacement, citing a ruling delivered on August 4, 2017.