Kenya

Articles about voting issues in the Republic of Kenya.

Elections in Kenya among world’s most costly | Standard Digital

May 112012

Kenya will have one of the world’s most expensive elections next year if electoral officials get their way. Standard Digital can report that taxpayers risk paying several times more per voter than people in other countries fork out. This raises serious questions on whether the proposed costs of the next General Election have been inflated. Officials with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission today rejected Sh17 billion set aside by Treasury for the planned March 4, 2013 poll. Instead, they are demanding Sh35 billion to conduct the first election under the new constitution as well as an anticipated run-off shortly thereafter. IEBC chairman Mr Isaack Hassan said if they plan the March 4, 2013 elections using the Sh17.5 billion Treasury has allocated the commission in the 2012/2013 budget, they will be forced to extend the election date by two or three days. He said the commission’s budget has a deficit of Sh23 billion and it will cost them at least Sh17.5billion to carry out a re-run in case of a tie in the presidential election. Read More »

ICC trials main threat to Kenyan polls: electoral commission | Reuters

Apr 192012

The possible trial of Kenyan politicians for election violence is the biggest threat for a repeat of unrest at next year’s vote, the country’s electoral head said, hoping reforms and new technology will ease a “pressure cooker” of tensions. Next March’s election will be the first since a disputed poll in 2007 that triggered a politically-fuelled ethnic slaughter in which more than 1,220 people were killed. Any trouble in Kenya could hit investment, trade and transport in the east African economic powerhouse’s land-locked neighbors, especially Rwanda and Uganda, which rely on Mombasa port for imports of food, consumer goods and fuel. ”As we move towards the election, it will become a pressure cooker,” said Ahmed Isaack Hassan, head of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) that will oversee the vote. ”The issue of the International Criminal Court (ICC) process may bring some tensions. This is the only thing which stands out, we have to wait and see how it will impact the elections.” Read More »

Right to vote in poll demanded by Kenyans abroad | nation.co.ke

Mar 162012

Kenyans in the diaspora want to be involved in decisions on the country’s political process to ensure their rights are safeguarded. They said they would not acknowledge the work of any taskforce set up by the government or ambassadorial offices without their direct participation. In a three-hour meeting on Sunday, participants vowed they won’t be left out of Kenya’s political process and resolved to ensure that the civil rights of Kenyans living abroad were not violated. The meeting was conducted via Skype and telephone connections and brought together more than 100 diaspora leaders and organisations from the US, UK, Germany, Canada, Australia and several others. Read More »

House team faults IEBC vote zones report | nation.co.ke

Mar 102012

The Justice and Legal Affairs Committee has faulted the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission for ignoring the recommendations of Parliament regarding the new electoral zones. Speaking to journalists in Parliament the acting chairman of the committee Njoroge Baiya, said that while the IEBC was an independent arm of government, it was duty-bound to make sure that most of the proposals from MPs were taken on board. Read More »

Boundaries row might derail poll date, warn Kenyan MPs | nation.co.ke

Mar 012012

A row over boundaries for the new constituencies and county wards may derail the election calendar and make it impossible to have elections in December. A House committee and the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission have both rejected the push for new wards and constituencies from most of the 500 petitioners, who had qualms with the commission’s proposals for the 290 constituencies and 1,450 wards. (READ: Did MPs create wards for themselves?) This failure to yield to the demands, according to acting chairman of the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, Mr Njoroge Baiya, will expose the process to mass litigation and open doors for a constitutional challenge on the time limit within which the Judiciary should determine petitions over delimitation. The worry over litigation arises out of an inconsistency in law, Mr Baiya told the Nation on Sunday. Read More »

Parliament to decide poll date | The Star

Feb 182012

Parliament and not President Kibaki or Prime Minister Raila Odinga will set the date for the general election. A constitutional court last month ruled that the election should be held in March next year, 60 days after the end of the current Parliament’s five-year term. Alternatively, the court left the date at the discretion of the two principals if they sign an agreement dissolving the coalition government and abiding by the constitutional requirement that elections are held within 60 days of such dissolution. Yesterday, during the PM’s Question Time in Parliament, Raila said the election date decision is “too important to be left to me and President Kibaki.” Read More »

Kenya high court delays elections to March 2013 | Reuters

Jan 142012

Kenya's Prime Minister Raila Odinga casts his vote at a primary school in Nairobi's Kibera slums

Kenya’s High Court ruled on Friday that the next presidential and parliamentary elections should be held in March 2013 and not this August, unless the ruling coalition collapsed, forcing an earlier poll. The east African country’s next election will come under intense scrutiny because it will be the first under a new constitution, and the first since the 2007 poll that gave rise to fighting in which more than 1,220 people were killed. The government had proposed amending the constitution to delay the vote to December because of logistical problems, prompting petitioners to ask the High Court for a ruling. Read More »

Use electronic voting, urges US envoy | The Nation

Oct 262011

The 2012 General Election should be conducted electronically if the voting is to be free, fair and transparent, US Ambassador to Kenya Scott Gration has said. The envoy faulted manual voting that the country has been using, stating that it was prone to malpractices and suggested that it be discarded.

On Tuesday, Mr Gration advocated for the electronic voter registration arguing that it was the only way to improve the confidence of Kenyans in elections. “Let the government put in place electronic system of voting ahead of the General Election in the country for transparent results to be seen in the electoral process,” the ambassador said. Read More »

Electronic voting ‘is still six years away for Kenya’ | Business Daily

Sep 272011

Election officials predict it could take six years before Kenya adopts an electronic voting system critical in forestalling a recurrence of the chaotic 2007 elections. This emerged as the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) started the process of identifying the appropriate technology for its use through a two-day exhibition that ended last Friday.

Mr James Oswago, the IIEC chief executive officer, said the country would not yet implement electronic voting but would instead procure a platform for electronic voter registration for next year’s elections in which voters will cast ballots for at least six candidates in various levels of government.

“We are not yet ready for electronic voting in 2012 mainly because there is a lot of civic education to be done to the public and politicians,” said Mr Oswago. “Any application of technology must increase administrative efficiency, reduce long-term costs and enhance political transparency. In the end, elections are about choices expressed in terms of results and those results acquire legitimacy only through unanimous or widespread acceptance”. Read More »

IIEC showcases latest election technologies - cautions Kenyans against rushing to embrace the electronic voting system | KBC

Sep 232011

Interim Independent Electoral Commission chair Isaack Hassan has cautioned Kenyans against rushing to embrace the electronic voting system without prior a feasibility study on it. Hassan says the system requires time and pumping of resources before it is implemented.

Speaking Thursday during the IIEC election technology exhibition in Nairobi, Hassan cited various countries that have banned the e-voting system. He noted that India succeeded to implement the system after 30 years while German and Nigeria banned it. Read More »

Real winners of Kamukunji poll | Business Daily

Aug 232011

By-elections in Kenya come and go, but few command attention in the form of drama or uniqueness. Among the few was the one held in Kamukunji constituency last Thursday. The turn-out was only 30 per cent of the registered voters.

Kamukunji is a special constituency that has, over time, acquired the status of a political shrine thereby giving the name Kamkunji to have extra political meanings. It is symbolic of struggles as well as a political weathervane. In colonial days, it acquired a reputation as the place where Africans could hold rallies, mostly political, because there were no other venues available for “natives”. It was an open field, surrounded by heavily crowded “African quarters” such as Shauri Moyo, Kaloleni, Muthurwa, Majengo and Gorofani. Read More »

Kitutu Masaba MP loses seat in petition | Capital News/Kenya

Aug 132011

Kitutu Masaba Member of Parliament Walter Nyambati (National Labour Party) has lost a petition filed against his 2007 poll win, joining a long list of MPs whose election have been nullified by the High Court. Kisii Resident Judge Milton Makhandia who delivered the ruling on Friday said the MP was elected irregularly.

Mr Nyambati’s election was challenged by Justus Omiti who had also sued a Returning Officer of the defunct Electoral Commission of Kenya and the Interim Independent Electoral Commission. In issuing the ruling, the judge said the petitioner had proved beyond reasonable doubt that there were irregularities in the polls. Mr Nyambati becomes the eleventh MP in the current Parliament to lose an election petition. Read More »

IBM completes e-services master plan for Kenya including e-voting system | Daily Nation

Aug 052011

Kenya’s masterplan on how to utilize technology to become a middle income country by 2030 is ready. An international team from IBM’s Corporate Services Corps program has completed a month-long term in Kenya to prepare the plan that would also see Kenya fully digitize its voting system.

This comes days after the government launched an open data portal providing crucial information on government services, income and expenditure to the public. The masterplan complements government’s efforts to digitize records to enhance e-services delivery.

The IBM team also laid out a framework on how citizens can access government services via mobile phones through data digitization. The digitization of records means citizens can track public expenditure to the last shilling. You will for example know what I have been paid and for what purpose. Of course I also talked about e-procurement and judiciary. Read More »

Kenya election team plans to enroll 19m voters | Daily Nation

Jul 192011

IIEC officials register voters for last year's referendum. The IIEC says it expects a high voter turn-out of 70 per cent in the next elections — an equivalent of 13.5 million votes

A key leader they have brought on their side is former National Assembly Speaker Francis ole Kaparo who wants to be UDM chairman. “We are talking to many people and we are ready to make sacrifices to win the next election,” Mr Keter said.

Ms Karua was in Western seeking support for her presidential bid. And four ODM ministers and three assistant ministers said on Sunday they have a strategy to ensure the elections do not end in a run-off.

Ministers Fred Gumo, James Orengo, Otieno Kajwang’, Dalmas Otieno and assistant ministers Oburu Oginga, Ayiecho Olweny, Katoo ole Metito and chief whip Jakoyo Midiwo said they had a campaign in place. Read More »

Kibaki and Odinga to set up new Electoral Commission - no electronic voting in Kenya in 2012 | Individual.com

Jul 162011

President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga have just two days to set in motion the mechanism that will give the country a new Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.

Interim Independent Electoral Commission chairman Ahmed Hassan said the new law provided for 14 days within which the President and PM should have each appointed two members — one male and the other female — to form a seven-member committee that will put Kenya on the path to the 2012 General Election.

… Mr Hassan said the commission will use a manual voting system in 2012 elections. This ends speculations that Kenya could have electronic voting in next year’s elections.

State goes hi-tech with launch of online data in Kenya - IBM to Help Set Up New Vote System‎ | Business Daily

Jul 082011

Internet users surf the Web at a cybercafe in Nairobi. Open Government Data Portal will for the first time make state information available to the public

Technology giants are scrambling to help Kenya digitise its processes to increase access to public information entrenched in the new Constitution. Internet giant Google has just unveiled an online access of more than 2,000 copies of the Hansard, a collection of parliamentary debates that date back to the past four decades, weeks after it did the same with the Kenya Gazette.

Another US tech giant, IBM has also announced that it is partnering with the government to propose a framework to support the development of an electronic voter masterplan, months after its delegation volunteered to boost operations of the Postal Corporation of Kenya, in what is emerging as a departure of the tech firms eying to grow their presence in the country from their heavy reliance on the private sector. Read More »

2012 could be an electronic voting year in Kenya | Capital FM Kenya

Jul 072011

The country may next year start full scale electronic voting after a team of international consultants arrived in Nairobi to assist in developing a master plan for e-voting in line with the Constitution. The team from IBM’s Corporate Service Corps Programme will volunteer their expertise for the next four weeks after which they will present findings and a plan to the government.

“IBM is partnering with the Government of Kenya to propose a framework that addresses Kenyan voting challenges,” said IBM Country General Manager Anthony Mwai.

“Our consultants will review the experience of the recent electronic voter registration pilot and compare this with global e-voter frameworks and evolving standards,” he added. Read More »

India's new democracy institute opens doors to Kenyans | Mangalorean.Com

Jun 242011

The newly established Indian Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIDEM) will be sharing India’s experience of conducting elections for six decades with its very first batch of students: election officials from Kenya.

The institute will be formally opened with a special five-day training programme for the Kenyan officials from June 27. Eight Kenyans, including an Election Commissioner (Kenya has eight Election Commissioners), will participate in the first training programme in New Delhi. Read More »

Election Commission of India unveils institute to train poll personnel from struggling democracies | The Times of India

Jun 182011

Living up to its billing as the largest democracy, Election Commission of India has now set up an institute to train personnel from struggling democracies who are seeking its help to conduct polls.

With requests from a host of countries to train poll officials, Chief Election Commissioner S Y Quraishi and Kenya’s Election Commissioner Ken Nyaundi jointly inaugurated the India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIDEM) on Friday.

The first course, for poll officials from Kenya, will begin on June 27. Besides training officials associated with elections at home and abroad, IIDEM will also run courses for mediapersons. Read More »

2012 electronic voting plan receives support of Kenyan MPs | Nairobi Star

May 282011

MPs want the electronic voting system put in place in readiness for the 2012 general election. Several MPs yesterday supported a motion by Karachuonyo MP James Rege for the government to facilitate the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to develop an electronic system for collection, collation, transmission and tallying of electronic data.

Cabinet minister Otieno Kajwang rooted for the passage and adoption of Rege’s motion which he said will help weed out electoral malpractices. He said an electronic voting system will facilitate the release of instant results after an election. Read More »

Parliament backs motion on electronic voting in Kenya | Kenya Broadcasting Corporation

May 262011

Parliament has Wednesday given the nod to compel the executive facilitate the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission develop a modern electronic system. The system will legalize electronic voter registration in all polling stations in the country up to the national level in readiness for electronic voting come 2012.

The motion sponsored by Karachuonyo MP Eng. James Rege, unanimously received the backing of parliamentarians who termed the current manual system of collection, collation, transmission and tallying of votes as a sham prone to errors and manipulation. Read More »

Stiff penalties sought for rogue poll officials in Kenya | Daily Nation

May 262011

Election officials who subvert the process of free and fair polls will face tough punishment if amendments proposed by a House committee are passed.

The Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee has proposed that officials found guilty of interfering with elections be sentenced to three years in jail and fined Sh1 million. Read More »

Jepthah Gathaka | The management of five elections in one wi......ll be an impossible undertaking in Kenya | Daily Nation

Apr 212011

The new Constitution provides that the election of President, MPs and the Senate, the county governor and the county ward representatives be held ‘‘on the second Tuesday in August in every fifth year’’. The management of five elections in one General Election in one day will be a Herculean task for the proposed Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

This will be against the spirit of the Constitution as provided for in Article 86, for it will be a recipe for chaos. It will be very difficult for voters to cast ballots in five boxes in one session. Even in the so-called developed democracies, managing and participating in five elections is quite difficult. Read More »