Raila Odinga's 10-point demands to Wafula Chebukati

Azimio la Umoja One Kenya presidential candidate Raila Odinga with Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui waving to the residents of Kaptembwo at Mazembe grounds in Nakuru on June 5, 2022. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

Azimio presidential candidate Raila Odinga yesterday put to task the electoral agency on 10 critical issues regarding election preparedness.

Raila challenged the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to issue a status update on its deployment of election technology, the credibility of the voters’ register, its adherence to the 2017 Supreme Court judgment, and questionable last-minute amendments to election laws, among other issues.

“Has the commission developed constitutionally compliant protocols and the results transmission path to the national tallying centre? When will the commission share the said protocols with stakeholders?” Raila asked IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati as soon as he was cleared to seek the presidency.

The ODM leader asked Chebukati to specify the status of the voter registration exercise and provide a county and constituency assessment of the same.

He joined the Judiciary and the civil society in inquiring about the preparedness of the Chebukati-led commission, amid claims that IEBC’s electronic voter register was breached, which have alarmed Deputy President William Ruto.

Raila raised the issue of the ongoing audit of the voters’ register, one that has put IEBC on the defensive in recent days, seeking to know if a preliminary report was out and when a final report would be ready. Chebukati has previously said that its result would be out in the course of the week.

Related to that, he also sought to know the status of data migration given that IEBC had changed its vendor of electoral materials.

There have been concerns that previous vendors have withheld data that includes the voter register, claims the IEBC has refuted.

Amid a war between IEBC and the Communications Authority of Kenya over 3G network coverage, Raila asked when the polls body planned to conduct “head to head testing of election technology.”

“Has the commission conducted an annual audit of election technology to guarantee data integrity to ensure that the technology functions effectively as specified?” Raila went on. IEBC has until Thursday to test all its technology and the ODM leader also put them to task on whether they would meet other statutory timelines.

Raila found the IEBC’s proposal to amend the election regulations to allow a presiding officer to open a sealed ballot box suspicious. That and their proposal to appoint returning officers without involving political parties and independent candidates.

Chebukati said he would convene an in-person forum to address the issues raised.

“This is not the time to go through this because we have other candidates to clear but we shall look for an opportunity to call all candidates for a meeting where we can ventilate some of these issues. I hope you shall attend in person where I, as the returning officer, can iron out these issues and answer all the questions in this memo in writing,” Chebukati said.

Electronic identification of voters and transmission of results

Has the commission developed constitutionally compliant protocols and the results transmission path to the national tallying centre?
When will the commission share the said protocols with stakeholders?
What is the status of the voter registration exercise; county by county and constituency by constituency?

Audit of the register of voters

Is the preliminary report by the audit firm ready? If so, what are the preliminary findings?
When is the draft final report of the audit of the register of voters expected?
Amendment of the Elections General Regulations (2012)

Proposal to amend Elections General Regulations (2012) which is currently before Parliament. The status and why.
Proposal to amend 3 (a) of the Elections General Regulations (2012) giving the presiding officer power to open a ballot box that has been sealed to remove wrongly put materials at the constituency tallying centre.

Recruitment of returning officers

The commission has submitted a proposal to amend the elections regulations to give itself an exclusive mandate to appoint elections officials, including constituency, county, and presiding returning officers, as well as their deputies without sharing their details with political parties and independent candidates as presently required by regulations 3, 4 and 5 of the Elections General Regulations (2012).

Printing of ballot papers

What measures have the commission put in place to ensure there are no lapses, logistical and security in the elections?

Data migration

What is the status of data migration?
What steps and measures have the commission taken to reduce or eliminate risks that could affect the functioning of election technology?

Technology issues

In late April 2022, IEBC announced that it will add 10,000 polling stations;

When does the commission intend to carry out timely head-to-head testing of election technology?
(What has the commission done to) ensure that the internal controls are effective?

Stakeholder engagement

What measures or steps have the commission taken to address the systemic inadequacies identified by the Supreme Court in 2017?

Election timelines

What is the status of compliance with statutory timelines set out in the revised elections operations plan released by the Commission on January 17, 2022?