Maybe it is just me but the ongoing raucous theatrics regarding the latest attempts to amend the election laws in the country by the governing Jubilee coalition and their CORD protagonists in the opposition are just unnecessary; raising temperatures in the country for the flimsiest reasons is the epitome of dysfunction and greed that ails the country today and MUST come to an end immediately if we are going to have a country to call home. As one of the originators of the manual vote-counting campaign, my idea was simply to protect and preserve the integrity and sanctity of the vote. This wasn't meant to give an unfair advantage of candidates over their competitors nor was it to legalize election rigging and yet when you listen to Jubilee MPs and the two principles Kenyatta and Ruto, you would think they just hit an elections jackpot; it is as if the forthcoming elections is a matter of formality for them and their reelection might as well be a foregone conclusion if the bogus opinion polls recently released are anything to go by. I say hold up! Wait a minute.
MANUAL VOTE COUNTS DEMYSTIFIED:
I think there is a deep misconstruction on both sides what manual vote count is about with respect to 2017 elections. The Jubilee government appears to believe this is a sure license to manipulate or rig the election results and the opposition is right to be concerned. Why else would Jubilee be gloating about a procedural change supposed to enhance the accuracy of the vote count? It is sinister to say the least. This is about the VOTE COUNT! Not voter registration or transmission of results but VOTE COUNT! Now if the parties want to expand the scope of the law to comprehensively address the entire process rather than piecemeal, I am supportive of that as I am sure most Kenyans are.
The intent and purpose of manual vote counting is to ensure that each cast vote is actually valid and is counted as the voter intended it to be counted. It is a "BACK-UP" to mitigate rigging and to avoid the effects of machine failures as it happened in 2013. It is not about BVRs or voter registration. Additionally it is to ensure that in the event that machines are hacked or manipulated or the candidates suspect shenanigans with the counts, everyone will have confidence that there is a credible manual tallying system in place with a complete audit/paper trail to ensure credible elections outcome. To that end, both the Jubilee government need to set aside their self-interests in this and strengthen the rules, CORD running wild like a bunch of rambunctious school yard bullies won't solve much neither's and this is what I would do if I were in charge of this process.
Legislatively: - Spell out the rules of engagement outright and codify them into law. Right now, too much discretion is left to IEBC and that's a recipe for disaster. It is an open secret that IEBC is not entirely independent and that Jubilee has great sway in how it is run, that gives Jubilee an unfair advantage over the opposition – the only way to clear that is via encoding procedures and processes that transcend parties' interests and then hold IEBC to account.
Third Party elections Administrator – This is one area I am very conflicted about but truth be told, IEBC is obviously a compromised entity and a lot of Kenyans have lost faith in the institution. It is in a worse state today in terms of credibility and preparedness for the 2017 elections than ever before because of the juvenile politics by CORD & Jubilee. Rather than spend Billions on a flawed process by distrusted entities, what if we instead get a truly independent outside third part to perform the mechanics of the elections? An outsider who has no vested interest in the outcome of the elections, a European or American entity whose role is simply to validate the ballots cast with the voter rolls and count them accordingly. IEBC will manage this entity. That will, in my opinion restore a lot of confidence that the process is open and fair. Think about that folks.
UPDATE IEBC PROCESS MAPS
The election process must be conducted with utmost sobriety and as meticulously as possible. No patchwork or leaving anything to chance. Methinks there should be a process map appended to revised laws that in effect become part of the election process, again it must not be left to IEBC's discretion to decide what that process is, and it is too much of a gamble to risk. Some have argued that IEBC is independent, IEBC is ONLY independent from undue externally influence, not immune or exempt from the law, it is an important distinction. So what should the process maps cover? To some this might be common sense but you will be surprised how much is really left to chance so I am just going to the fundamentals. You ask, and here is what I envision.
a) Voter registration – This must be an ongoing exercise and NOT subject to arbitrary deadlines as IEBC has it now. Kids are turning 18 every day and no voter should be disenfranchised needlessly on account of restrictive deadlines. Should be open registration until at least 30 days before elections.
b) Diaspora Voter Registration –Kenyans outside Kenya must be included in the process, it just has to – period.
c) Voter Registry – Only ONE voter registry should be on file with the IEBC. Must be verified and certified. It must be available for inspection to avoid voter stuffing.
d) Biometrics – This is supposed to be common sense. A machine readable voter card must be issued to a voter at registration.
e) Ballots issued at Polling stations –The voter presents the voter card and his/her identity card at the polling station to vote. A ballot is issued to the voter which is scanned and tied to the voter card at the polling station. Once a voter card is scanned at the polling station, it cannot be used again elsewhere. This will eliminate ghost voters or ballot stuffing.
f) Ballots & Voter cards – All printed ballots MUST be sequentially pre-numbered with unique serial numbers, Just like a company that creates pre-numbered invoices, IEBC ballots should be pre-numbered.
g) One ballot One Voter – Simply means a ballot issued to a voter MUST be traced to that voter, simple as that. And since a voter must be physically present, there should be a question of anyone voting more than once much less an ineligible voter voting.
h) Data collection & Headcounts – We need an extra layer of confidence that votes tallied actually match the number of folks showing up at the polling stations. So as rudimentary and redundant as this sounds, we need a physical headcount – if 1000 ballots are cast at a polling center, our headcount must be 1000 voters, basic and effective.
i) Electronic Ballot casting –A ballot (vote) must be scanned and into the machine and a duplicate receipt issued to the voter, IEBC keeps a copy and the voter a copy. It is basic technology used at retail shops all over the world including Kenya. This is the surest way to ensure votes can be easily recounted if there is any dispute. This is where manual vote counting comes in, if for whatever reason there is a need to recount votes and validate the returns from any polling station, it can be done timely.
j) Manual Ballot Casting – Same as above except perhaps in extremely remote areas where technology would be limited to batch processing, meaning votes may in fact need to be cast manually or provisional ballots are issued. Either way the vote should count in the same manner regardless of whether it is manually or electrically cast.
I think this is a good place to start and parliament would be wise to refocus their efforts away from partisanship to doing what's best for the country.
0 Comments