2027 election technology must be beyond reproach

As Kenya moves toward the 2027 general election, valid concerns have emerged over the integrity of the election technology that we have, and the grey areas in the process that led to the procurement of the equipment. 

Former Venezuelan Intelligence Chief  Hugo 'El Pollo' Cavajal, currently in custody in the US, recently told a US court that deposed Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro used the Smartmatic Technology system to rig elections. According to Cavajal, who says he oversaw the development of Smartmatic Technology systems, it is open to manipulation and can be tweaked to alter genuine electoral results. 

This confession has caused concern locally because Kenya's Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) used Smartmatic Technology in the 2017 and 2022 general elections that the Opposition has repeatedly claimed they were rigged. 

Indeed, the 2022 arrest of three Venezuelan employees of Smartmatic Technology company while in possession of IEBC election materials at JKIA raised serious questions on the integrity of the elections. Azimio la Umoja presidential candidate Raila Odinga unsuccessfully challenged the outcome of the election at the Supreme Court. His loss did not, however, give legitimacy to the election result and suspicion has always lingered. 

With the latest revelations about Smartmatic Technology systems, the questions we have all along been avoiding must be confronted. There is a need to establish, with the help of the US, whether this technology was used to boost democracy or to wreck it during our past two general elections. Kenyans need to know whether those who won in those elections did so genuinely or were, as Raila Odinga put it, were 'vifaranga vya kompyuta'.

With more than one year to the 2027 elections, some leaders in the Opposition have alleged that there are elaborate plans to rig the presidential election in favour of incumbent President William Ruto.

Despite the IEBC Chairman Erastus Ethekon dismissing claims that the 2027 elections will be rigged, there is a need to ensure that the electoral system is not abused or manipulated to defeat the will of the people. Smartmatic Technology can no longer be trusted in light of the latest claims. What, then, is the way forward? 

In keeping with constitutional stipulations, IEBC is obligated to involve the public in the procurement of electoral material. Public procurement must be competitive, transparent, and accountable. Moreover any technology used to register voters, transmit results, or tally votes must be subjected to public scrutiny before it is deployed.

We cannot afford to have election results contested every five years. This, as we have witnessed again and again, divides the citizenry and erodes public trust in the electoral commission and the government.

The bad memories of 2017 and 2022 are still fresh in the minds of Kenyans. IEBC must take this opportunity to do things openly and differently to earn public trust. The electoral commission must get it right this time.