IEBC Chief Executive Officer Ezra Chiloba assured Capital FM News that the revised dates will not impact on the August 8, 2017 election date despite events running behind the original schedule/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 2 – The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) says the second phase of the month long mass voter registration will take place on January 16 next year to ensure as many people as possible register before the General Election slated for August 8.
In revised elections timelines following the enactment of the amendments to the Electoral Laws on October 4, the IEBC Secretariat said it will roll out a voter education for a week from January 8 to 16, before conducting the mass voter registration drive.
“The Commission has made deliberate efforts to ensure that the changes introduced by the new law are implemented under a revised work plan. However, there still remains some fundamental concerns on the elections amendment laws that the Commission has made known to Parliament and other stakeholders that must be addressed for an efficient and effective delivery of elections,” a statement by IEBC issued Friday said.
IEBC Chief Executive Officer Ezra Chiloba assured Capital FM News that the revised dates will not impact on the August 8, 2017 election date despite events running behind the original schedule.
According to the revised timelines, the IEBC will Friday settle on one of four firms to carry out an audit of the voter register for the next 30 days; an exercise that was initially intended to take place last month.
Registration for Kenyans living in the Diaspora will take place from February 1 to February 17.
The IEBC managed to net 1.4 million new voters during its mass voter registration held between February and March 2016, falling short of their four million target.
According to the revised electoral calendar, the Commission is expected to subject the draft specifications for Kenya Integrated Election Management System for validation by a multi-stakeholder Technical Committee established under Section 17 of the Election Laws (Amendment) Act 2016.
The Commission will soon advertise the tender for the supply and delivery of all technology.
The Election Laws (Amendment) Act 2016 requires an integrated electronic electoral system that harmonises Biometric Voter Registration (BVR) kits, Electronic Voter Identification (EVID) kits and the Result Transmission System (RTS).
The IEBC projects that the delivery of the new kits shall be on April 30 but cautions that any delays by the Technical Committee in decision-making may result in further delays.
“The challenges faced during 2013 polls were blamed on poor planning and execution. The delays in procurement of key electoral infrastructure negatively impacted on their testing and deployment. In addition, pending bills amounting to Sh4 billion were incurred that the Commission continues to settle as resources become available,” the IEBC said.
The Commission has proposed the Technical Committee on ICT should be composed of at least three members of the IEBC and designated staff; the Attorney General; the Principal Secretary, National Treasury; a representative each from Majority and Minority parties in the National Assembly and two representatives of the Political Parties Liaison Committee.
Other members of the committee will include the Registrar of Political Parties; the Communication Authority of Kenya, Information Communication Technology Authority, the National Council for Persons with Disabilities, the Telecommunication service providers association, the National Registration Bureau, the Information Systems Audit and Control Association-Kenya Chapter.
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