I’m going to say what many people may be afraid of saying. The ECK may have had its faults but at least it stood out in most other areas compared to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. From faulty voter registration to tallying of votes, the IEBC has failed in many crucial aspects. While not looking at whether Kethi Kilonzo’s registration was fraudulent, her argument before the dispute resolution committee that her duty was simply to register as a voter and the commission looks at the rest of the issues in a way holds water. I also happened to be one of the victims of faulty voter registration and even after making several visits to confirm my registration, the situation did not change. It was painful to be told that my name was missing in the voter register after withstanding the long queue on March 4. I was only allowed to vote after senior election officials intervened by calling the IEBC offices to confirm my details. Most Kenyans had full confidence that the electoral processes would be streamlined when the IEBC was constituted. The decision to digitise most of the processes, including voter registration, verification of the registers, tallying and transmission of the results was a relief to many. However, everything turned chaotic during the March 4 exercise when the electronic systems failed. The question remains: Have they learnt anything from these failures? It is true that the more things change the more they remain the same. The IEBC should urgently put their house in order. Kethi Kilonzo’s case is one in thousands that show the levels of incompetence at the IEBC.
Posted on: Wed, 10 Jul 2013 08:06:55 +0000