CORD wants another firm hired to audit poll register

Wiper Democratic Movement leader Kalonzo Musyoka addressing a press conference. (Photo: Jenipher Wachie)

The Opposition has once again urged the electoral body to hire a reputable international firm to conduct a forensic audit of the voters register, which it says is compromised.

The Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (CORD), in expressing its lack of confidence in the register, threatened that if nothing happens, it will soon publish a comprehensive list of double ID registration across the country and share it with the Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

CORD Co-principal Kalonzo Musyoka, who issued the brief on behalf of the Opposition in Karen yesterday, said the glaring anomalies in the IEBC’s database, as detected through the voter confirmation short code 22464, confirms a pre-rigging scheme by Jubilee using details of young Kenyans who were biometrically registered by the National Youth Service (NYS).

Kalonzo (pictured) took a swipe at the commission for rushing to suspend the SMS service after it revealed serious flaws in the voter register.

“IEBC is ill-informed about how rotten the voter register is and that’s why it suspended the SMS application. The inflated numbers in the voter register is a direct indictment of the commission,” he said.

“This is why it is important to conduct a forensic audit with a firm with a known track record. The commission must ensure Kenyans that it is ready to conduct credible polls by cleaning the voter register as stipulated in the Election Laws 2016.”

According to the Opposition, cases of double registration have been detected in the Jubilee strongholds

Kalonzo urged the new IEBC commissioners, led by Chairman Wafula Chebukati, to immediately convene a stakeholders meeting to iron out the thorny issues that put their predecessors at loggerheads with the Opposition.

“The commissioners should show goodwill by reaching out to everyone. We will easily withdraw the case we filed in court against KPMG and agree on an internationally recognised firm. We believe the former commissioners settled on the firm to harmonise the two million ghost voters on the list,” he said.