IEBC calls for immediate appointment of new commissioners
IEBC confirmed that Kenya's voter register is now 98% clean and accurate, following a thorough audit
The CEO of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Operations Ruth Kulundu, has confirmed that Kenya's voter register is now 98% clean and accurate, following a thorough audit with assistance from KPMG, the global audit firm.
Speaking at the People's Dialogue Festival on Thursday, Kulundu noted that when the IEBC contracted KPMG in April 2022 to audit the register, the global audit firm conducted a thorough review and found over 4,000 deceased voters, all of whom have since been removed.
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"When we engaged KPMG in April 2022 to audit the voter register, they conducted an excellent review and revealed that we had approximately 4,000 deceased voters in the register," said Kulundu.
"We ensured the register was cleaned up 60 days before the general election. Moreover, we corrected discrepancies in voter transfers, ensuring that individuals were placed in their proper voting areas."
Despite these improvements, Kulundu highlighted a critical challenge for the commission. She revealed that IEBC is currently unable to proceed with continuous voter registration due to the absence of plenary commissioners.
Kulundu called for the immediate appointment of new commissioners to allow the commission to resume its work.
"We are unable to move forward with continuous voter registration until we have plenary commissioners in place. The process to appoint new commissioners must be finalised by May or June this year to ensure we can continue this important work," she said.
She also confirmed the need for local printing of ballot papers, citing budgetary considerations and the importance of strengthening election security.
"By printing ballots locally, we can manage the risks and ensure the integrity of our elections," she said.
The report by KPMG also unearthed weak password systems and log-in details of ghost electoral officials, pointing to the possibility of hackers accessing the database and proceeding to deny voters their right to cast their ballots by either deleting their details from the roll or transferring them away from their preferred polling stations.
"KPMG analysed the full register and noted that there were transfer transactions processed between the 2017 General Election and May 2022. The analysis of those transfers identified several constituencies and counties showing trends of abnormal voter transfers having been processed in the Register of Voters," said IEBC in a statement dated June 20, 2022.
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