The electoral commission is preparing to test the technology that will be used to transmit the results of the August 9 general election.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has until today to test, verify and deploy the technology, which must be completed at least 60 days before a general election.
According to IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati, the test run will take place in Kenya’s Bomas in the presence of representatives from the four presidential candidates.
“You have given us chief agents to work with. You will be invited to be part of that simulation exercise. We want to reiterate that the commission is focused on giving Kenyans a free, fair and credible election. That is what we have been preparing for since the last election,” Mr. Chebukati said on Sunday.
53,000 polling stations that will be used for the upcoming elections will be tested for the purpose of results transmission and satellite modems deployed in polling stations without 3G network.
The dry run is intended to identify issues with electronic copies of election results, which are used to collate provisional election results at the national tallying center in Bomas.
“Once the register has been finalised, the commission will determine how many polling stations are outside 3G network and publish the same,” said Mr. Chebukati.
KPMG is auditing the voter register as well as the raw certified copies of the principal voter register. According to the IEBC, its voter database now has 22.5 million voters, up from 19.7 million in 2017.
Results sent electronically are only used to generate a preliminary tally. Before declaring the outcome of an election, the IEBC is required to verify physical statutory forms.
Technology has become an essential component of Kenya’s electoral process since 2013, when it was first used to address the issues that led to the 2007/8 post-election violence.
