Questions still linger on election results transmission

Among key issues to be dealt with before the next polls is the use of an electronic result transmission system (RTS).

RTS is configured to transmit provisional results electronically to an observation centre, with the public being allowed to watch a live stream of the results on the screen.

But the failure of the system in 2013 fired concerns that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) ignored warnings from experts that the entire voter transmission system would collapse. This eroded the confidence of Kenyans that electronic transmission of results is a guarantee for a free and fair election.

With a year left to the next election, IEBC has placed an expression of interest to acquire a new RTS. The commission admitted that multiple technical hitches led to the previous system's failure. This included the working of the biometric voter registers and the electronic voter identification devices.

The commission last week said the success of the system in subsequent by-elections was proof that RTS is reliable.

"We have already placed an expression of interest in the media and we expect that we will get a good system," said IEBC Chairman Issack Hassan when he appeared before the Parliamentary select committee on IEBC last week.

polling stations

"We should not judge the RTS by the 2013 elections," Mr Hassan said.

He said the system's failure was a "special difficulty that has been rectified in subsequent by-elections". The system transmitted only 17,000 out of the 33,000 polling stations in the 2013 polls.

At the centre of the controversy are concerns that computer servers, which were key pillars in the electronic transmission matrix, were hacked, leading to a total collapse of the system including RTS. The system was also faulted on grounds that spoilt votes were multiplied by eight, a hiccup IEBC said was identified and rectified immediately. 

IEBC's Director of Information and Technology James Muhati last week said the IT department had already identified gaps in the failed systems and moved to seal them. This includes ensuring server security and provision of backup should the systems in place fail.

There are also plans to test the system before it is deployed in a bid to ensure nothing goes wrong during elections.

"I would like to assure you and the public that from an IT perspective, we have conducted an assessment of our systems and we have come up with an elaborate plan to close the gaps we have identified," Mr Muhati said.