Why dead voters could rise from the grave to vote

The country is staring at the August 9 elections with an unverified register containing the names of the dead, it has emerged.

IEBC on Monday said it had failed to secure an independent firm to audit the register of voters with five months to the general election.

Verification could face legal hurdles as the law requires the audit to be conducted six months to the general election. A smaller sample has been suggested.

An audit of the register is meant to, among others, eliminate double-registration and remove the dead from the register.

As the CEO of the electoral agency, Marjan Hussein, spoke of  fresh challenges, nine Western diplomats, including the US, called for free and fair elections, and a smooth handover of power.

The statement by the envoys was a clear indication that Kenya was again in the global spotlight after the nullification of presidential results, a Kenyan and continental first in 2017.

“We, like the people of Kenya, recognise the importance of free, fair, credible and peaceful elections this August to Kenya’s prosperous and stable future,” the diplomats said.

Questions surrounding the integrity of the voter register emerged when the IEBC team led by CEO Hussein and commissioner Francis Wanderi appeared before the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee on Monday. 

Marjan told the oversight committee chaired by Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi that the commission initially advertised for an independent firm to conduct the audit and only one firm applied.

The firm was disqualified for being non-responsive.

It is true any move to audit the register from our end may face legal obstacles. As a commission we will seek the opinion of the Attorney General on the way forward

After hitting a snag, the agency started the process afresh and only closed the tendering process on Friday last week.

“We advertised for an independent audit firm to audit the voter register, the firm was found to be non-responsive. We have since re-advertised, this time we got more than two and we hope we will get a firm to audit our register,” Marjan said.

A source at the commission told the Star  the IEBC is considering  seeking a legal opinion from Attorney General Kihara Kariuki as MPs questioned cleanup of the register outside the law.

“It is true that any move to audit the register from our end may face legal obstacles. As a commission we will seek the opinion of the Attorney General on the way forward,” a senior member at the commission said.

At the committee, MP Otiende Amolo (Rarieda) and his Funyula counterpart Wilberforce Oundo raised questions about the legality of an audit outside the provided time frame. 

“Would you concede the commission is in breach of the law because the Act says that an audit of the voters’ register should happen at least six months to the general election?” Otiende asked.

“We are already five months to elections; the law says six months. The exercise you are about to conduct is not in line with the law,” the Funyula lawmaker said

The MPs warned that any Kenyan can challenge the process in court if the exercise is conducted past the strict timelines provided in the Constitution.

In what signals a possibility of the commission going into polls with a ‘contaminated’ register, Marjan quoting the law said the audit was only mandatory for the 2017 polls.

“It was mandatory to do the audit in 2017, but in the subsequent polls the Act talks of the commission ‘may’,” the CEO said.

According to the Elections Act 2017: “The Commission may, at least six months before a general election, engage a professional reputable firm to conduct an audit of the Register of Voters.”

“The commission will be doing interviews next week for CEO and deputy CEO. The whole process of election is for the members of the staff including CEO. Marjan has acted for long but I cannot say any other person cannot conduct it,” Wanderi said.

Marjan tops the list of the five shortlisted for the commission’s top job, according to a statement released by IEBC on Sunday.

Also shortlisted are Nancy Kariuki Wanjiku, Dr Joel Mabonga, Zephaniah Aura Okeyo and Dr George Kamau Michugu.

(Edited by V. Graham)

Previous elections have been marred by claims of dead voters casting their ballots in favour of candidates who ended up as victors.

The electoral malpractice is usually rampant in strongholds of key candidates in the elections which normally register 'high voter turn-out'.

The situation could get worse if a Bill before Parliament that allows manual identification of voters at the polling station is passed.

The Elections (Amendment) Bill, 2022 being spearheaded by the IEBC itself is seeking to amend the law to give room for a complementary mechanism of voter identification.

“Clause 21 seeks to amend Section 44A of the Act to provide for complementary mechanism for voter identification and transmission of election results,” the Bill currently before the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee reads.

An audit of the register is meant to, among others, verify the accuracy of the register and in situations where some details are not accurate recommend mechanisms for enhancing correctness of data.

The exercise also helps in updating the register by eliminating instances of double-registration and removal of dead persons.

IEBC’s current register has about 22 million voters after the two enhanced voter registration drives.

Wandayi questioned the contingency plans in place if the commission fails in ongoing attempts to have the register cleaned.

Wanderi was also taken to task on the commission’s decision to start recruitment of a substantive CEO late in the day when the country is months away from polls.

The lawmakers also asked whether the newly recruited CEO will be able to deliver a credible election within five months in office.

(Edited by V. Graham)

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