NYS has no role in voter listing, says IEBC

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission is seeking to allay Cord’s fears that the National Youth Service is secretly being used to register voters in a plot to rig the next elections.

The commission, at the same time, warned against any attempt by political players to carry out a parallel registration of voters, stating they would be prosecuted for performing the mandate of the IEBC.

IEBC Chief Executive Ezra Chiloba described the allegations raised by Cord co-principal Kalonzo Musyoka as “unsubstantiated and false.”

“There are unsubstantiated allegations of voter registration by persons or organisations other than the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

"Invariably, it has also been claimed that the Commission had employed NYS personnel to carry out such voter registration. There’s no iota of truth in both allegations,” he said in a statement released Wednesday.

Last week, Mr Musyoka claimed that the NYS was being used to register voters in a secret plot by the Jubilee administration to rig the 2017 elections.

He claimed that biometric voter registration (BVR) kits in the hands of the ministry of Public Service, Youth and Gender were being used to lay the ground for election rigging.

“We find registration of people with BVR kits mischievous. Declare those registered by name and identity. IEBC owes to Kenyans transparency,” said the Wiper Democratic Party leader.

But Mr Chiloba on Wednesday explained how 200 BVR kits landed in the hands of the NYS and declared that they were not being used for voter registration.

DEVOLUTION MINISTRY

He said that in 2014, the commission sold 200 BVR kits to the then expansive ministry of Devolution and Planning following a request from then Principal Secretary Peter Mang’iti to audit its staff under the government civil service rationalization program.

He said the IEBC took the decision to dispose of the 200 BVR’s instead of lending them to the ministry as it had earlier requested.

“The Commission deliberated on the request on 4th September 2014 and resolved that rather than lend the kits to the government, it would instead permanently dispose of the requested number of kits,” he said.

The IEBC chief executive said data in the BVRs was erased and the hard disks were reformatted before the devices were transferred to the Devolution ministry.

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich, who is the custodian of government equipment, he said, was involved in the transfer process.

“The Commission has a record of the serial numbers of the BVR kits which left its asset register and were transferred to the government. The transfer was communicated to the Treasury Cabinet Secretary, who is the custodian of government assets, and acknowledgement of the same received in December 2014,” he said.

Mr Chiloba said the Devolution ministry was expected to install new systems and software in the devices to be used for the staff audit. If the kits were being used outside the stated intention, he stated, it does not include registration of voters.

“The transfers were permanent. The kits were handed over without data or software to enable installation of a new operating system and software by the users.

"Other uses of the biometric devices by NYS are not in any way connected to the Commission’s system or ongoing voter registration,” he said.

Mr Chiloba said registering voters is the preserve of the commission and warned that those found to be carrying out the exercise would be prosecuted.

“Anyone purporting to usurp this role is violating the law and is liable for prosecution. Anyone with such evidence should therefore report to the Police for appropriate action to be taken.

"Moreover, the Commission will also investigate any breach of the elections law if it receives any tangible information,” he said.