The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission is inviting applicants for interviews in the positions of presiding officers, deputy presiding officers, and polling clerk jobs.
Successful candidates will then be shortlisted for training in preparation for this year's general elections. Below is a breakdown of pay for all IEBC contracted officers who will conduct the August polls.
Presiding officials in charge of voting stations would be paid Ksh. 2,000 every day for a period of 13 days.
Deputy presiding officers will be paid Ksh. 1,800 each day for 13 days to help the presiding officer in operating the polling site.
Polling/counting clerks who will be in charge of the actual voting process will be paid a daily wage of Ksh.1,000 for a period of nine days.
Support Election Trainers will be paid Ksh.2,000 each day for 15 days to guide presiding officers and their deputies through the basics of the electoral process.
Voter educators, who are those entrusted with providing civic education to ward voters, will go home with Ksh.1,500 every day for 30 days.
One thousand five hundred shillings will be given to logistics officers who will be on the job for 30 days prior to the election.
The commission advertised approximately 400,000 temporary posts to be filled by Kenyans who would like to serve with the commission in guaranteeing the implementation of free, fair, and credible elections in an advertising that expired on May 6th.
Deputy presiding officers will be paid one thousand eight hundred shillings (ksh. 1,800) each day for 13 days to help the presiding officer in operating the polling site.
Ward-based voter educators, who are those entrusted with providing civic education to ward voters, would be compensated with one thousand five hundred shillings (ksh.1,500) every day for 30 days.
As the country prepares for the elections on August 9th, All eyes are on the Anniversary Towers-based Commission to see how well it is prepared to hold one of Kenya’s most tense general elections.
The applicants’ attention is drawn to Section 30 of the IEBC Act, which provides that members or employees of the Commission may be sentenced to a term of imprisonment of not more than three years or a fine of not more than one million shillings, or both, if they engage in election malpractices that jeopardize free and fair elections.
Role of a Presiding Officer in Kenya
The role of a Presiding Officer in Kenya includes being the
overall in charge of a polling station and-
- controls
the admission into the polling station;
- assists
voters who require assistance;
- controls
the flow of voters in the polling stations;
- supervises
polling officials;
- ensures
the security of election materials;
- administers
the oath of secrecy to voter assistants;
- briefs
the agents on their roles and responsibilities at the polling station
before polling starts;
- provide
information on the number of registered voters and voter turnout at the
polling station;
- regularly
updates the
Returning Officer on the voter turnout and any other emergencies;
- counts
and tallies votes cast;
- announces
election results in a designated polling station;
- signs
the official results declaration forms in a polling station;
- transmit
result electronically to the national and constituency tallying centres;
- hands
over the official results to the Returning Officer at the constituency
tallying centre;
- performs
any other duties assigned by the Returning Officer.
Role of Deputy Presiding Officer
The duties of a Deputy Presiding Officer in kenya extend
from those of a Presiding Officer.
The role of the Deputy Presiding Officer in Kenya is as
follows-
- deputises
the Presiding Officer;
- performs
the duties assigned to them by the Presiding Officer;
- ensures
safe retrieval of election materials.
Job requirements for Presiding Officers and Deputy
Presiding Officers
The qualifications for a Presiding Officer in Kenya and the
Deputy Presiding Officer include the following–
- be a
Kenyan citizen of high integrity, and non-partisan;
- be
the holders of Degree or Diploma certificate from a recognised
institution;
- be
computer literate;
- have
effective communication;
- have
good report writing skills;
- can
manage people, sensitive data and materials;
- have
skills in data computation;
- must
be available for the entire period of the General Election;
- must
be residents in the constituency and Ward for which they apply.
Role of a Polling Clerk in Kenya
The role of a Polling Clerk in Kenya is as follows;
- prepare
the polling station for polling day. The Clerk–
- sets
up and demarcates the polling station;
- ensures
the polling place is clean and tidy; and
- sets
up polling booths.
- verifies
the voter’s name and ID (and voter’s card number) in the voters’ register;
- identifies
a voter electronically. This involves checking and marking the names of
voters in the voters’ register;
- issues
ballot papers to voters;
- marks
voters to show that they have voted;
- ensure
the security of election materials under their custody;
- manages
queues and directs voters to respective polling stations.
- puts
up signs, statutory notices, and voter instructions, and make sure they
are visible;
- ensures
that voters vote in secret and place their ballot papers in the (correct)
ballot box.
- performs
any other polling station duties assigned by the Presiding Officer.
Qualifications for a Polling Clerk
The qualifications for a Polling Clerk in Kenya include the
following:
- an
aggregate score of C- and above in KSCE;
- must
be of good character and non-partisan;
- must
be available the entire period of the elections;
- must
have good communication abilities;
- when
interacting with voters, must use professionalism and courtesy.;
- must be a resident of the Ward where the polling centre applied for is located.