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On this day five years ago, then Jubilee presidential candidate Uhuru Kenyatta and his main challenger, Raila Odinga clashed over the level of the electoral commission’s preparedness to deliver a credible poll.

Raila, who was running on the Nasa ticket censured the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for awarding the tender for printing ballot papers to a Dubai-based firm Al Ghurair, saying it had hosted Jubilee officials in the Saudi emirate earlier that year, demonstrating its partisanship.

But Uhuru hit back, accusing Raila of threatening the electoral commission and causing unnecessary tension.

Five years later, the same suspicions regarding the level of IEBC’s preparedness prevail. Yesterday, the Catholic waded into the debate, asking the polls body to put its house in order ahead of the polls to avert any potential mishap.

The church now wants IEBC to fast-track the cleanup of the voter register as well as put in place proper mechanisms to deliver credible and fair elections on August 9.