Let Kenyans relay election results

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) gave in to opposition demands for a parallel vote tallying (PVT) system. This is a good thing. Part of the process of political development is the gradual demystification of politics and the conduct of elections in particular.

Having a robust PVT will help ensure the IEBC does their job well, and will almost certainly serve to strengthen the public’s trust in the electoral system. As a general rule, the more data points we have on the eventual vote tally – at all electoral levels – the better we shall be as a nation.

Before going any further, we should consider why the commission was hesitant in the first place. Electoral laws give the IEBC the sole authority to announce electoral results. And so far the government has opted to implement this law as if it expressly denies individuals and other private entities from transmitting electoral results. This is an insult on the intelligence of Kenyans. It also makes no sense.

The idea that private actors cannot release electoral results because of the risk of electoral violence is an insult on the Kenyan’s intelligence. We are certainly capable of handling bad political news. The fact of the matter is that a majority of Kenyans are peaceful individuals who care about the benefits of political stability.

It is politicians who push us to violence. And so it is up to the same politicians, and not wananchi, to ensure that the dissemination of electoral information this August does not lead to violence.

If IEBC and NASA do their maths right, they should converge on a similar outcome in the presidential election. This ought to be the outcome. But it is an outcome that is contingent on a number of variables that are open to manipulation.

Something to hide

First of all, is the IEBC competent enough to handle the logistical challenge posed by the election? If the answer is yes, then they should not fear any other actors that may be interested in relaying the same results to the public.

It is only if the IEBC knows that it will have something to hide that it will want to deny other private actors the right to relay electoral results. Second, is NASA capable of doing what it claims it wants to do – post more than 45,000 electoral monitors across the country and use the same as polling agents? This will be an important variable.

It will determine whether we can trust a PVT system or not. Again, one hopes that both actors will succeed in counting the votes and converge on a similar outcome. If NASA does it right then it will signal the beginning of an open process of capacity building among our political parties to assist in bringing more light in the electoral process.

It follows that the media, our political parties, and whoever has capacity to release results should be allowed to do so. The more eyes we have on the data on election night, the more we are going to be able to trust the eventual outcome. But on the other hand, secrecy will create strong incentives for unscrupulous actors to fudge the numbers or to not do their job properly.

- The writer is an Assistant Professor at Georgetown University.

Twitter: @kopalo