The IEBC has recruited 100 temporary clerks who will finish verifying Okoa Kenya referendum signatures by end of February, chairman Issack Hassan has said.
Hassan said the clerks will transfer the 1.4 million signatures submitted by the Cord coalition in hard copy, to soft copy.
The electronic data will be run against the database of registered voters for verification, an exercise that a team from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission will supervise.
The chairman said the commission will facilitate interested independent observers who may wish to participate in the process.
This follows successful negotiations with the National Treasury that saw the commission receive approval for expenses related to the exercise.
Hassan warned leaders against making alarmist or erroneous statements that could result in public unrest, on whether the IEBC is working within its mandate.
“On the issue of timelines, the commission wishes to clarify that Article 257(4) of the constitution does not set specific timelines within which the commission must verify the signatures, he said.
Leaders in the Cord coalition said the signatures, which were submitted in November 2015, were collected and verified after a "daunting process".
The signatures are for the draft bill on the referendum to amend Constitution of Kenya 2010 by popular initiative.
Wiper's Kalonzo Musyoka said the referendum will be a major test for the IEBC as the "country is ripe for constitutional change".
The Opposition leaders want amendments for more funding to counties, which they say should be in charge of security.
Other issues they want addressed are electoral, institutional and land reforms, and the entrenchment of the CDF into the Constitution.
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