NASA insists voter register still has dead people

NASA wants MPs recalled to discuss the contentious KPMG report.

Nairobi, Kenya: NASA wants MPs recalled to discuss the contentious report by a firm that audited the voter register.

Co-principal Musalia Mudavadi accused the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) of colluding with Civil Registration Services (CRS) to retain dead persons in the final register in an alleged plot to rig the elections.

The Opposition wants the National Assembly recalled for a special sitting to discuss the report by KPMG regarding a recommendation to expunge dead voters from the list.

NASA has accused IEBC of deliberately failing to clean up the roll. The criticism came in the wake of reports the names of some dead voters were still in the register.

"NASA has noticed a systematic trend where IEBC has kept mum on questions of publishing a cleaned less-dead-voters register. IEBC has instead chosen to divert attention by enlisting other State agencies to explain away its refusal to clean up the voter register as required by law," said Mudavadi, who is also the coalition's national campaign committee chairman.

"Since the issue of a clean register is of great public importance, urgent and exceptional and will determine whether the 2017 elections will be free, fair and credible or not, NASA calls for a special sitting of Parliament to discuss the KPMG audit and other election-related violations in the conduct of elections by IEBC," he said.

IEBC boss Wafula Chebukati ruled out making any further changes to the roll.

He said the accuracy of the register had been enhanced by the audit conducted by KPMG.

"On June 27, the commission announced certification of the Register of Voters and the same was published in the Kenya Gazette Vol. 84 on the same day. This is the final register that will be used for the 2017 election, without any further changes," said Chebukati.

He asked stakeholders to consider the rigid timelines to the August 8 elections even as they make their contribution towards the electoral process.

Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi and Majority Leader Aden Duale said NASA should follow the procedure stipulated in the Standing Orders to seek a recall of the House if they feel the matter warrants the attention of the House.

"The procedure is they ask either the Majority or Minority Leader to write to the Speaker, giving specific agenda of the issue they want discussed. I have not received such a letter from either of the two leaders and of course our Standing Orders do not recognise press releases," said Muturi.

The Speaker said in recalling the House, a determination has to be made if the sitting would in any way help to cure the problem.

"You must ask yourself if there is any resolution that is expected to come out of the sitting, and if that resolution would help cure anything," he added.

Duale dismissed NASA's efforts 'an exercise in futility'.