Civil societies point out errors in Kenya poll and IEBC tallies
From left: Kura Yangu Sauti Yangu Society members Gladwell Otieno, Samwel Mohochi, Njonjo Mue and Peter Kiama. The repeat presidential poll was marred by inconsistencies and errors, the lobby says. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
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Under the Kura Yangu, Sauti Yangu (My vote, My Voice) banner, the groups faulted Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Wafula Chebukati for the errors.
They questioned why the number of registered voters announced by Mr Chebukati differed from the gazetted number of listed voters, both at the national and county levels.
Civil societies have highlighted various inconsistencies in the October 26 repeat poll involving the register, number of valid votes cast and vote addition errors.
Under the Kura Yangu, Sauti Yangu (My vote, My Voice) banner, the groups faulted Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman Wafula Chebukati for the errors.
REGISTER
They questioned why the number of registered voters announced by Mr Chebukati differed from the gazetted number of listed voters, both at the national and county levels.
“Mr Chebukati's announced numbers match what is in the gazetted register in only four of the 48 counties [voting areas] (eight percent),” the group said in its assessment of the repeat elections ordered by the Supreme Court.
“In 92 percent of the counties, the gazetted number and Chebukati’s announced number are different.”
The team also faulted Mr Chebukati’s figure of the total number of people that turned up to vote, which the IEBC chief put at 7,616,217.
“That total is not the total of all votes cast. It is actually the sum total of his announcement of candidates’ aggregate valid votes. Using his individual county results, the total number of valid votes is 7, 716, 107,” they said.
Further, the team said the IEBC chief had got his math wrong in the final declaration, with the figure for three candidates varying from the calculations of the 47 county figures they made.
DEAD VOTERS
Instead of the 7,483,895 figure for President Uhuru Kenyatta, the team added it up to 7,583,895, a 100,000 subtraction, with those of Ekuru Aukot and Mohamed Abduba Dida added 100 and 10 votes to 21,333, and 14,107, respectively.
The team also faulted the IEBC voter register, saying it lacked a definitive number of registered voters.
“We noted unexplained differences between the biographic and biometric lists of voters, unexplained increases in the register after registration closed, the presence of over a million dead voters in the final register and serious data gaps in the reference documents used to create the register,” said the report by the Kura Yangu, Sauti Yangu group.
While the number of registered voters was 19,611,423 in June after verification and certification, the figure changed to 19,637,061 in August, climbed to 19,728,124 on October 26 when Kenyans voted, 19,671,944 two days later, and was at 19,611, 366 on October 30 when the fresh poll results were declared.
The team said it deployed 2,000 observers in 44 of Kenya’s 47 counties to monitor the repeat poll.
Find the Kura Yangu, Sauti Yangu report in the downloads section of this story.
