Electoral agency suspends short message services

IEBC noted many people were disappointed with the SMS system as it took too long to get feedback. "It is the reason why after prolonged executive discussions, we decided to suspend the SMS service," he said. PHOTO: COURTESY

The electoral agency has suspended the use of the short message service (SMS) to verify whether one is a registered voter.

"We realised it was hectic for us to handle the growing number of online inquiries almost each minute, even before we get to upload data," said Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Communications Manager Andrew Limo.

IEBC noted many people were disappointed with the SMS system as it took too long to get feedback. "It is the reason why after prolonged executive discussions, we decided to suspend the SMS service," he said.

IEBC said they will consolidate and make the register available for verification via SMS and online. Opposition leader Raila Odinga was unhappy over the agency's move.