Those who conduct and count ballots determine elections results

By Koki Muli

It is a great relief to learn that the Government has finally signed a Sh3.8 billion agreement to complete payment to Safran Morpho to pave way for them to deliver the 15,000 Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits.

 Whatever the merits or demerits of the process to acquire these kits, we are now assured the voter registration shall be electronic. Problems associated with the procurement will hopefully be addressed in an audit that should be conducted after the elections next year.

Electronic registration is going to help Kenya reduce cases of multiple registration and other frauds associated with registration of voters. Also, cases where “ghost” voters turn out to vote will hopefully be a thing of the past.

Since the biometric details of the voter, such as finger printing, face and eye scanning and recognition – depending on the features these famous machines are able to capture – we hope voters will allowed to vote without the necessity of too much documentation for proof of identity. For example, we should not expect any registered voter with proof of identity to be turned away even if they do not have the traditional voting documents that we used before the BVR.

I am also relieved to learn that the IEBC says it is ready to conduct registration immediately the BVR kits arrive. This is assuring because, we are perilously running out of time for credible preparations. I have not seen a lot of voter education nor have I seen the gazetted list of registration centres prepared by the IEBC but then, I must believe they are ready.

I am out of the country and I have not heard or witnessed any discussions around voter education in the Diaspora but I am hopeful that sooner than later, all voters, those in the Diaspora included, shall receive information regarding how, when and where (Diaspora) we should register and vote.

I also hope the IEBC will engage extra hands for registration from the Diaspora and that they will not ship registration and elections staff from Kenya.

The embassies/consulates staff may be available to assist but they are certainly not sufficient, as they would otherwise be engaged in their duties. In many countries, the Elections Management Bodies (EMBs) conducting out of country voting usually engage locals based in the Diaspora to conduct voter education, registration polling and counting.

This is done out of necessity, efficiency and cost-effectiveness. Some of the IEBC staff can supervise the training of the Diaspora elections staff and provide guidance as required.

Usually, special staff is designated to oversee and manage the Diaspora registration, polling and counting. The key staff and commissioners occupy themselves with the elections inside the country. Some EMBs subcontract trusted international organisations to assist them with logistics and request for security from the host countries while they ensure the core registration and elections activities are conducted only by citizens and nationals.

This is necessary to avoid outside influence and to facilitate accountability.Also, elections are sensitive matters that touch on national interests and the security of a country. As such, only nationals who must swear allegiance and confidentiality oaths should be allowed to oversee and conduct elections. If foreigners are allowed to conduct elections, they can easily influence its outcome especially if they have a preferred candidate in mind.

As Lenin said, those who conduct and count the ballots determine elections results! Therefore, citizens charged with the responsibility of registering voters and conducting elections must always remain vigilant to potential outside influence and must ensure they do not divulge sensitive information or communicate directly to anyone in/outside the host countries.

 Every communication must be vetted, approved and cleared for release by the home country EMB. The EMB must also accredit observers and the media in host countries and these activities must be very carefully coordinated and overseen.

The writer is an elections and constitutional law expert and lecturer, South Eastern