Clash over IEBC move to scrap manual register

IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati addresses the press at the Bomas of Kenya, June 20, 2022. [Samson Wire,  Standard]

The revelation by the electoral agency that the August 9 elections will be conducted without a physical voter register has created the latest political fodder.

In what will be a shift from tradition, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has announced that it would only rely on a digital register to serve the 22.1 million voters and avoid manipulation of the polling exercise.

The Monday decision has sparked fears of some people being locked out from voting, given lack of an alternative voter identification method.

Notably, approximately 2.5 million voters had to rely on the physical register in the 2017 General Election after verification of their details failed due to poor quality of the fingerprints, exposure of Kiems kits to weather elements and technical failure of some kits.

The fears are also compounded by the fact that an additional 1,200 polling stations, representing approximately one million presidential voters, are not connected to a 3G or 4G network, which could interfere with transmission of the presidential results.

Yesterday, Constitution and Reform Education Consortium (Creco) Executive Director Joshua Changwony faulted the strategy by IEBC, noting that there was a need for a second method of voter identification and verification to ensure a credible poll.

Not able to identify

“In 2017, some 36,000 Kenyans were not able to identify themselves due to challenges with the gadgets provided by IEBC but due to the presence of a physical register, they were able to vote. In case we have a repeat, how will the electoral agency ensure such registered people vote?” posed Changwony.

He further sought to know how the IEBC would serve persons with disabilities, who lacked some body features used in identifying them and those whose fingerprints had worn out.

“Kenyans are used to the old way of voting and now that there is a shift, IEBC should give clear communication about the process at the polling station to avoid confusion,” he said.

According to a report released by IEBC based on the KPMG audit, the number of youth (18-34 years) registered to vote in 2022 stands at 39.84 per cent, a decline of 5.27 per cent from 2017.

This means that of the 22,120,458 voters in the now cleaned register, there is a measly eight million youth compared to the more than 13 million voters aged above 35, who account for 60 per cent of the voting population. 

Nandi County Assembly Speaker Joshua Kiptoo said should technology fail IEBC, contingencies need to be in place lest the exercise creates ripe grounds for contesting the results.

“IEBC is on record saying a third of polling stations do not have network coverage and even proposed use of satellite The lack of internet is a recipe for the kits failing,” said Kiptoo.

“If you look at the Supreme Court decision of the presidential petition in 2017, one of the major considerations was the failure of technology. That was one of the reasons of nullification,” he added.

IEBC Chief Executive Officer Marjan Hussein Marjan has maintained the digital voter register was the best bet to curb electoral rigging by way of manipulation of the physical register.

“While using the physical register is possible - depending on the level of collusion at the polling station between rogue officials and party agents - to have some voters participate twice,” said the CEO.  

He also allayed fears of technology failure noting that the Kiems kits will have four backup kits in each of the 1,450 wards.