Hassan: IEBC was ill-prepared for poll  

Electoral commission chairman Isaack Hassan has acknowledged that the IEBC conducted last year’s General Election when it was not fully prepared.

Mr Hassan said a delay in the delivery of the Electronic Voter Identification Devices (Evids) and lack of sufficient time for preparation contributed to the hitches that slowed down voting.

He said: “We did not even have time to test the Evids or even train poll staff adequately. We were stretched to the limit in terms of logistics, personnel resources and technological systems.”

The chairman was speaking at Kaskazi Beach Hotel in Diani, Mombasa, during the opening of the IEBC election evaluation workshop.

The forum was convened in the wake of pressure by the Cord Coalition to have the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission disbanded.

Mr Hassan said instead of disbanding the commission, it should be strengthened and given time to correct its mistakes, noting that logistics challenges could be blamed for some of the failures.

He attributed the challenges they faced to the size of the election, saying there was no other country in the world except Kenya and Sudan where six elections are held. While Kenya’s was conducted in one day, Sudan does theirs in seven days. Kenyans elected the president, MPs, senators, governors, women representatives and county assembly members

PRONE TO ERROR

“I have said this time and time again that the commission does not have to be disbanded. We need to emulate the example of South Africa where the election commission has stayed for over 20 years,” the chairman said.

Mr Hassan suggested that as the MPs contemplate the change of election dates from August to December, they should also look into the need to have the General Election staggered between county and national elections.

Kwale Governor Salim Mvurya who is affiliated to Cord differed with his colleagues as he turned down the disbandment call.

He said IEBC needs to be strengthened  to enable it build the trust of Kenyans and open up democratic space in the country.

Court of Appeal Judge David Maraga, while cautioning against blaming IEBC officials, said the judiciary would prepare a report on the elections and come up with recommendations including that concerning time limit for presidential petition.

“While you (IEBC) have been criticized by the politicians, you are aware of the names the judiciary was called especially after the Supreme Court case.”

These days we are said to be issuing idiotic orders but we take it in our stride because we are doing our job,” he said.

In an interview with the Nation on the sidelines of the conference, Justice Maraga however pointed out that some of the malpractices that had occurred were perpetrated at the polling stations.

Noting that he had participated in several election petitions, Justice Maraga said: “I want to tell you that no election the world over has been perfect even in developed countries because they are held by human beings who are prone to error. What brings the difference is the level of mistakes that can be made.”

“The most important and critical issue that you should consider to ensure that the results polled at the polling stations are reflected correctly in forms 34 and 35,” he said, adding that judges have been forced to annul results of elections because of errors that were committed at the polling station,” he added.

According to Mr Thomas Letangule, a commissioner, the party system in the country was also to blame for low turnout of voters in parts of the country. He also accepted that failure by the Results Transmission  System (RTS)  affected the perception of the elections.

“Much as fingers are being pointed at us, the parties have not played their roles properly because according to a report we released yesterday, people failed to turn up to cast their votes because they were not sensitized. Parties play a crucial role in mobilizing voters,” he said. 

REACTION

Post-election criticism

“We did not even have time to test the Evids or even train poll staff adequately” IEBC boss Isaack Hassan

“While you (IEBC) have been criticized by politicians You are aware of the names the judiciary was called especially after the Supreme Court case”  Justice David Maraga