Kenyans head to the polls on Tuesday. The country will rely heavily on technology to verify voter identities and transmit presidential ballot results. After the Supreme Court nullified the 2017 presidential election on grounds of fraud, the Electoral College has been in the public eye trying to shake off its image.
Kenya's Electoral Commission said the general election was ready and election materials were reaching her more than 46,000 polling stations across the country.
Boya Molu, one of his commissioners from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), said his team was ready to hold elections.
“All employees are trained. They are provided with appropriate information, from technology to voter identification, technology to election law. We are ready to take off at 6am on Tuesday," he said.
On Sunday, the commission dismissed four elections officials for allegedly meeting candidates to aid voter fraud in western Kenya.
The Electoral Commission was heavily criticized for mismanaging the 2017 presidential election. Kenya's Supreme Court annulled the election, citing failures to uphold the electoral process and constitution in conducting the vote.
Nairobi-based lawyer and political commentator Joy Mudivo said the biometric technology kits electoral agencies relied on in 2017 failed from start to finish.
“In the last election, many kits suffered massive failures. When it came time to send, many of the kits failed them," she said. "We were unable to get the network to send the results."
Mdivo participated in two IEBC assimilation exercises in June and July and discussed how the integrated election administration system differs from the 2017 system. explained what
"A voter's details are not just a thumbprint," she said. “We need all 10 fingers, so the fingerprint captures them all and also takes facial recognition pictures. You can be identified by your ID number and face.You will see a photo captured during registration so you can verify that this is a voter...but more than that, all...to the kit are now fitted with satellite modems.If our normal provider fails, they can use satellite to transmit.”
said to be final.
The Chairman of the Commission must review all results before announcing the President's final results.
Political analyst Martin Andati expects there will be less trouble since President Uhuru Kenyatta is not running for election. No incumbents running, less chance of interference.
“If you have a president who is a candidate, it jeopardizes security issues. Now we have a president who doesn't care. So there is a big difference in terms of guaranteeing security,” Andati said.
In 2017 the Supreme Court found no evidence that the president interfered in elections.
In this election, the two main challengers are Laila Odinga, 77, who leads in recent polls, and William Ruto, 55. Ruto is participating in the event for the first time, and Odinga is making his fifth attempt.
Kenyatta supports Odinga in the presidential race, but he has told Kenyans that he will hand over power to whoever they choose.
