Current IEBC cannot hold transparent polls

By EDITORIAL

The proposal by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to reuse poll equipment used in the 2017 General Election has sparked public uproar. That is not surprising.

The proposition demonstrates a lack of sensibility and creativity and invokes bad memories. It seems that the IEBC has not acknowledged its structural weaknesses and the distrust it attracts from the public.

At face value, it makes sense to reuse the equipment. Since it was bought at huge costs and used only once, reusing it in 2022 sounds sensible. But that is only to the extent that one is looking at cost.

 As experts argue, technology changes every 18 months and that means the equipment used in 2017 cannot be deployed for another assignment after years and expect to achieve quality outcomes.

Considering that twice in a row – in 2013 and 2017 – the IEBC deployed technology and failed, there is every reason to worry about reuse of the technology.

TECHNOLOGY

But the proposal reignites a debate about the use of technology to deliver fair and transparent elections. The issue of equipment is at the heart of the electoral process and touches on a matter that was fiercely contested in court and on which ground the results of the presidential election were annulled in 2017.

In its petition at the Supreme Court after the election, the National Super Alliance argued that the electronic system used to transmit election results was defective, leading to irregularities that compromised the integrity of the presidential election. And the court affirmed the assertion and directed the electoral agency to fix its electronic technology.

Importantly, the matter raises questions about the capacity of the IEBC to conduct the next elections. The starting point is its composition.

For the past two years, it has operated with the chairman Wafula Chebukati and two commissioners after five others resigned. What that means is that the commission is incapacitated and cannot make decisions. Ad hoc attempts have been made to address this but nothing has been achieved.

The next election is just two years away and preparations for it have to start early. But that cannot happen in the present circumstances. This is why we ask Parliament to take the necessary steps to reorganise the IEBC.

The starting point is to disband the commission, begin the process of appointment of new commissioners and create systems to revitalise its operations.

What we have is an institution that cannot be relied upon to deliver fair and transparent elections.