The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Returning Officer for the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election, Muhihu Njihi, has confirmed that the commission is fully prepared for the mini-poll slated for Thursday, July 16, 2026.

Speaking at the tallying center late on Tuesday, July 14, 2026, ahead of the election, Njihi said all non-strategic election materials had already been packed and distributed, with only ballot papers awaiting issuance in the presence of candidates’ agents, observers, and the media.

“We are ready for this by-election. The materials, all of them, are in the hall as we speak. They are all packed in the ballot boxes, and we are just waiting for the presiding officers to come here tomorrow so that we can issue them with the ballot papers and other materials. The vehicles will be here to transport them to the 144 polling stations, where they will wait for Thursday morning for polling to begin at exactly 6 a.m.,” he said.

Voting materials

Njihi added that the commission had all the necessary non-strategic materials, including statutory forms, stationery, lamps for use during the evening, rubber stamps, reflector jackets, and other election equipment required to ensure a smooth voting exercise.

He explained that the only materials yet to be issued were the ballot papers, noting that they would be opened in the presence of candidates’ agents, observers, the media, and other stakeholders to uphold transparency.

What is not here are the ballot papers because they have to be opened in the presence of agents, candidates, the media, and other organisations. That exercise will be conducted tomorrow at 10 a.m. Before opening them, we must first confirm that the security seals have not been broken and that they remain intact as they arrived from the printer,” he stated.

Electral preparedness

The returning officer further revealed that the constituency has 144 polling stations spread across its five wards, with 73,480 registered voters expected to cast their ballots.

Njihi also assured residents that adequate security arrangements had been put in place following consultations with county and sub-county security teams.

“We’ve been in touch with the security team, both at the county and sub-county levels, and they have given us the assurance. We are very confident that the by-election is going to be very peaceful,” he said.