Key election timeline missed as IEBC hints at date change again

IEBC Chief Executive Ezra Chiloba. (Photo: Wilberforce Okwiri)

Hopes that the country is well on its way to full electoral reforms dimmed furtherThursday as it emerged that some of the timelines set by the new electoral laws may be unrealistic.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has raised the red flag on the practicability of some of the timelines set by the new electoral laws.Procurement of poll equipment at least eight months to the August 8, 2017 General Election as stipulated in the Electoral Laws (Amendment) Act, 2016, is among deadlines that are “unattainable”, according to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

According the electoral laws, the equipment must be procured at least 8 months before the elections.

The polls are 10 months away.

The law states that these equipment must be tested, verified and deployed by February 8, next year.

According to a political deal agreed by Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD) and Jubilee, the new electoral commissioners were to be in office by today.

But the nine officials led by Issack Hassan are still in office haggling over an exit package with the Government.

The new law requires the establishment of over 30,000 new polling stations, which will raise the cost of managing next year's polls to at least Sh50.8 billion up from Sh45 billion initially budgeted.

The new electoral law signed by President Uhuru Kenyatta on September 15 has capped the number of voters per polling station at 500 voters.

Based on the new requirement, IEBC is to manage a total of 56,000 polling stations in the 2017 General Election. This is double the number of polling stations in the 2013 polls which was 24,000 stations.

According to IEBC, the cost of managing a single station is about Sh180,000, excluding capital investment in election technology, putting the increase in cost at Sh5.8 billion.

In its election operation plan released in January, the electoral body placed its total cost at Sh45 billion. Out of this, Sh4.5 billion is earmarked for electoral technologies.

"Voters per polling station capped at 500 voters and the commission has no flexibility even in places where capping is 'impractical'. Polling stations are the main cost driver of election budget and will lead to increase in cost of elections," says the commission in a document titled 'Implications of Electoral Laws (Amendment) Act, 2016'.

It adds that some centres cannot be expanded without acquiring additional space and this will present further challenges.

"Immediate concern will be whether the law should be amended to give the Commission discretion," says the commission.

To set up a polling station, the commission will require eight officers, security personnel, a vehicle, space and machines.

IEBC further says that there are several grey areas in the amendment that could put the country in an awkward position should someone go to court over failure by the commission to meet some of the legal requirements.

For instance, the commission plans to have its second Mass Voter Registration in December so as to list college going students during the holiday. Legally, the last mass listing should be done at least six months to the polls, putting it around February next year.

The commission is already grappling with is the acquisition of electronic voter identification devices (EVID), results transmission system (RTS) among other electoral devices to be deployed in the 2017 polls.

In the 2013 polls, a breakdown of devices on the election day threatened the country's peace following claims that the systems were compromised.

IEBC has already raised the alarm on the timeline in which the technologies should be acquired and tested.

On the requirement that IEBC conducts primaries for political parties in their request, the commission says it will be difficult since its already running out of time to keep up with some of the set timelines.

But on Monday, IEBC Chairman Issack Hassan told Senate Public Accounts and Investment Committee that the commission "was ready and willing" but wanted to know the source of funding before they can "take the discussion forward".

"It appears that the commission does not have room for rejecting such a request. But the commission is mandated under the Constitution to regulate the manner in which parties nominate their candidates. Whether it will be prudent for the commission to run political parties primaries at the same time conduct elections," states the document.

Again the joint select committee of Parliament recommended a thorough audit of voter register by a professional firm, which is yet to be identified.

The commission has recommended development of a new timelines on the preparation of the voter register.

It further wants the new law to be amended; regulations and guidelines to inform party primaries put in place; and implementation of the new law to kick off as soon as possible to allow it meet some of the timelines.