The Independent? Electoral Boundaries Commission

By Kethi Kilonzo

Once upon time I had a conversation with my late father.  And it went something like this:  “I blame your coalition for losing the election.  For failing to guard their votes.  For failing to obtain forms from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from the polling stations to prove their claims of vote manipulation.”

This was the Monday after the declaration of the results of the presidential election, and a few days before I would be asked to represent AFricog in the presidential petition. 

“Can any presidential candidate from one tribe send party agents to a region of another tribe with a presidential candidate and guarantee their security? The responsibility to guard the vote from manipulation is IEBC’s, and no one else.  Party agents are not commission officials. They are simply witnesses of a process that should be conducted properly and impartially by the body mandated to do so by the law.”

According to the audit of the presidential election by Mars Group there are over 2500 Form 34s missing from the website of IEBC.  As a result, there are over 950,000 votes that cannot be accounted for in the documents disclosed by the IEBC.  The Supreme Court has never and could not release the full audit report of Form 34s supplied by IEBC for the presidential election because a large number was missing.

At the Supreme court the IEBC stated that all Form 34s for the presidential election had been uploaded on its website. 

It is now well over six months after the General Election.

There can be no reasonable explanation for the absence of these forms. None has been offered by the IEBC. It can be very well argued that the only body that could determine the validity of the election of the President, the Supreme Court, has done so.  And there is no avenue for appeal.

It can also be very well argued that the President has been sworn in and assumed office.  As he is entitled to do so under the law. However, the IEBC remain and must be held accountable for the returns of the elections.  All the elections.  They should make available, upon request, all forms and returns made from the last General Election.  This responsibility is both legal and moral.  It does not end upon filing of an election petition challenging an election.

The Chairman of IEBC, as the Returning Officer for the presidential election, before the Supreme Court certified under oath that the total votes cast in the presidential election in Bomet County was 225,713.

The Returning Officer for Bomet County certified under oath before the High Court in an election petition that the total valid votes cast in the presidential election in Bomet County was 225,143.

The affidavit of the Returning Officer was sworn on April 8th and filed on April 10th; by the time of filing, the presidential petition had not been concluded. 

The difference in both declarations under oath is 590 votes.  A drop in the ocean.  But it should bother us that two courts have been issued with two different results for the same election from officials of the same body.

Writer is an Advocate