Chebukati sought the legislators’ assistance when he appeared before them on Wednesday/FILE
NAIROBI, Kenya Mar 14 – The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has called on Senators to help address the issue of transfer of voters from one locality to another during the electioneering period.
Speaking when he appeared before the Senate standing committee on Justice and Legal Affairs on Wednesday, the electoral body Chairman Wafula Chebukati said many voters were denied the right to elect leaders of choice when transferred to new places.
“We want you to help us make legislations about this issue, voters should not be ferried to go and vote for leaders whom they do not even know,” said Chebukati.
Isiolo senator Fatuma Dullo who admitted that the matter is serious asked the Commission to propose ways on how it can be stopped.
“It is a matter that we cannot just ignore, it is happening and denying many people their rights to elect their preferred leaders,” she said.
However Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jnr opposed the idea saying it was a violation of the constitution and advised the IEBC not to contemplate proposing any kind of legislation to that effect.
“We cannot legislate on bad manners, IEBC should not engage in politics. That is a matter that should be left to politicians,” Mutula said.
The commission also told members that they are contemplating introducing a mobile app to encourage persons aged 18 years and over to register as voters.
“Youths in the country have become less concerned when it comes to registering as voters but as a commission we believe that through the app some youths might be able to register and actually get to exercise their democratic right,” said Chebukati.
At the same time the commission told members that it is installing new servers that are tamper-proof in a bid to seal loopholes in future polls and prevent hackers from infiltrating into their systems.
“The commission has put in place sufficient security measures to ensure future elections are seamless devoid of any problem,” said Chebukati.
Chebukati however categorically stated to members that their systems were not hacked during last year’s polls, sentiments which were backed by Commissioner Abdi Guliye who was also present during the session.
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