Auditing company KPMG says it is capable of verifying voters' roll

The auditing company KPMG says it is capable of verifying the voters' roll despite opposition parties saying it has no experience in such matters.

In a press statement, Josphat Mwaura, the chief executive officer of KPMG East Africa, said his company had qualified personnel to audit the voter listing for next year’s General Election.

“KPMG intends to bring the highest standards of professionalism, integrity and experience to the audit of the register,” he said. “We look forward to engaging with stakeholders and providing clarifications and additional information required in the course of the exercise.”

Last week, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) awarded the global auditing company a contract to verify the roll and weed out dead, foreign and underage voters who may have been illegally registered.

Part of its contract announced on December 16 involved checking the register used during the 2013 elections as well as that of voters registered in the last three years.

But Cord went to court on Thursday and obtained an order stopping the contract.

According to the opposition, KPMG was awarded the contract before consultations between the commission and political parties were held and that the company had never conducted a similar audit.

The IEBC said it awarded the company the contract after it beat 12 others in the bid.

Last evening, KMPG said it had critically analysed the assignment and hired personnel involved in the 1994 South African elections, which saw Nelson Mandela become the country’s first black president.

“Despite the risks associated with the audit of the register, we considered it our duty to lend credence to the preparations for elections by demonstrating our capacity and experience elsewhere in the world,” Mr Mwaura said.