Issack Hassan led IEBC team to observe Scotland independence referendum
Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission chairman Isaack Hassan during the launch of report on the quality of the principal register of voters and strategies for future election by Institute for Education in Democracy on June 20, 2014. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- A team of nine officials from the Commission sent to observe the decisive vote in Glasgow.
- The vote was meant to determine whether Scotland would secede from the United Kingdom.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has said it has learnt important lessons from the Scotland referendum.
IEBC Manager for Communications Tabitha Mutemi said a team of nine officials from the Commission sent to observe the decisive vote in Glasgow will be bringing home new experiences.
“Valuable lessons were drawn from the exercise that will inform the conduct of referenda (sic) and elections in Kenyan,” she said in a statement from Glasgow, Scotland.
The nine officials including Chairman Ahmed Issack Hassan and a number of MPs from the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee were invited by British electoral authorities; UK Electoral
Commission and the Scottish Elections Board, to observe the independence referendum on Thursday.
The vote was meant to determine whether Scotland would secede from the United Kingdom.
Majority of the voters voted to remain in the Kingdom. Voters were asked to answer the referendum question: ‘Should Scotland be an independent country?’ The supporters of the independence garnered 1, 617, 989 votes or 45 per cent while supporters of the kingdom cast 2,001, 926 votes or 55 per cent.
Pro-union supporters hold a "No" flag outside Ibrox Stadium on September 16, 2014, ahead of the Scottish independence referendum. AFP PHOTO | IAN MACNICOL
The leader of the ‘Yes’ campaign team, First Minister Alex Salmond had conceded defeat long before the final announcement was made. A total of 4,285, 323 had registered to vote.
And since the result required a simple majority, the ‘No’ voters were declared winners.
IEBC team was allowed to observe voting in various parts of Scotland, the counting and the final declaration of results by the Chief Counting officer Mary Pitcaithly.
The IEBC team says it will be issuing a detailed report on the experience.
The Commission has been accused since last year’s General Election of mismanaging the gadgets meant for the elections.
Currently, the opposition alliance, the Coalition for Reform and Democracy-CORD, is seeking signatures to, among other things, change the management of the IEBC in what it calls “electoral reforms.”
