IEBC remains optimistic over use of technology

IEBC Chief Executive Officer Ezra Chiloba photo:courtesy

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission says it is optimistic that its electronic technology will not fail on polling day.

IEBC Chief Executive Officer Ezra Chiloba said that although the law allows the commission to come up with a complementary system for voter identification and results transmission, the technology is built in a way that the chances of failure are minimal.

In an interview with The Standard, Chiloba said the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS) has spare kits and that technical staff would be available to resolve any glitches.

"There shall be two ICT officials per constituency to provide technical support and trouble shooting. In the event they don't sort out the kit, we have three kits per ward and in the event the replacement fails, then a printed register shall be allowed, as set out in the regulations. Our belief is that the manual back-up is the last resort," said.

The commission last evening held a plenary meeting at Bomas of Kenya to come up with regulations and guidelines to be applied if the complementary system is used.

"By Tuesday, the commission shall provide to the public regulations on the procedures of the complementary system to be used on polling day," Chiloba said.

The commission says that the requirement for results to be transmitted electronically necessitates the push to put in place a watertight system. It adds that it is working with mobile service providers and has mapped 95 per cent of polling centre coordinates for purposes of determining network coverage.