For peace, Raila had better not have his own electoral results

Election arithmetic is not something you joke around with or entrust to goons, idlers and party hooligans.

Mathematics mean scores in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examination these past two years – no more than 27 per cent – prove that the country has no stomach for numbers.

The owners of these grades are the people Opposition leader Raila Odinga wants to entrust with toting up numbers in the August 8, 2017 elections.

Nothing in mobile phone technology and modern computing can simplify the mysteries of numbers to people whose proclivity for self-delusion could drive them to create fictitious results. Numbers do not lie, but people do.

PARALLEL TALLYING
Already, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has enough machines to record results from the country’s 57,331 polling stations and add them up; it does not need any further help.

Inserting numeracy-challenged individuals into the ballot counting by establishing a parallel vote tally would turn arithmetic into a dangerous sword.

People who are losing elections would be rushing about with numbers that have not been cleaned, perfumed and dressed appropriately, and upon whose edge ignorant masses could be driven to suicide through heartbreak, falling on sharp objects, stopping bullets, and self-immolation in the full glare of television cameras.

Past experience has shown that bandying around election numbers prematurely causes excitement, leading to shock, disorientation, denial and death.

PREVENTING VIOLENCE

Back in 2013, the decision by the Election Observer Group to release the results of its parallel vote tabulation several months after winners had been sworn into office prevented widespread violence.

As it were, the ELOG parallel vote tabulation gave Uhuru Kenyatta 49.7 per cent of the presidential vote when he had garnered 50.07 per cent – a clear error of 0.37 per cent that would have denied him the presidency.

Unlike parallel vote tabulation, IEBC results have a zero margin of error.

POLLS CREDIBILITY

Although PVT is a little better than exit polls, which thrive on asking people how they voted, it is equally prone to error if there is no assurance of agent presence at each and every polling station.

If people have waited a whole four years to know if the current leadership has been elected or not, they can wait another two days, or a week.

Party agents, unlike IEBC officials, are likely to hear their own numbers and photograph imaginary results, which cannot stand scrutiny, and then subject them to torture through photoshop.

Their totals will likely exceed the number of registered voters in the country.

Any calculation that is parallel to the official process undermines public confidence in IEBC, which will have different numbers, and can spark chaos because Kenyans have a habit of disbelieving official communication.

Before the truth finishes putting on its shoes and shows up in public, people will be dying of shock and other related conditions.

REJECTING ELECTION OUTCOME
Despite assurances that no one will steal elections this year, Mr Odinga continues to carelessly wield the vote count in the air like a sword, insisting on verifying the numbers produced by officials who have sworn to act with integrity.

You cannot give people jobs after assessing their integrity and trustworthiness and spend the rest of their time in office doubting them.

Hiding under the guise of being a citizens’ tool for assessing the conduct of elections and verifying official results as announced, parallel vote tallying is just a screen for losers to reject poll outcomes.

ACCEPT AND MOVE ON
When it comes to election numbers, it is better to be late than sorry.

If anyone requires copies of results forms from all polling stations and constituencies, as was the case with Mr Odinga in 2013, he should give IEBC time to complete all its tasks instead of doing their own wrong arithmetic.

In the meantime, it is the duty of all peace loving Kenyans to accept results as they are announced by IEBC without challenge.

[email protected]