Errors flagged by the National Assembly have cost the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) a move to amend some of the laws ahead of the August 9 General Election.
The electoral commission led by Wafula Chebukati had submitted proposals to Parliament that sought to avert the repeat of what happened in 2017 when the Supreme Court nullified the presidential election.
To seal the loopholes that emanated from the 2017 polls, IEBC submitted amendments to laws majorly focusing on the registration of voters, voter education, party nominations, party lists, and the use of technology in the transmission of election results.
However, the amendments failed to sail through after the Delegated Legislation Committee led by Tiaty MP, William Kamket, established the rules failed to conform with the Constitution and the Elections Act, 2011.
Other errors raised by the Committee include the failure by the Chebukati-led Commission to conduct public participation before proposing the changes to election laws.
The Committee further established that some of the regulations contained drafting errors and mistakes which failed to meet the Constitution threshold to sail through.
The electoral Commission was also flagged for failing to consider essential timeliness before proposing the amendments.
"Further, the IEBC may not have adhered to the statutory timelines and the House may need to extend time if it has to allow deliberations on the regulations," the Kamket-led committee established.
While presenting the amendments, IEBC argued that the five laws were meant to address the issue including the transmission of results which is only limited to electronic means and voter identification which were among the thorny issues that were raised by the Supreme Court in 2017 under Chief Justice (Rtd) David Maraga.
In particular, IEBC wanted Parliament to enact laws that would allow alternative means of transmitting presidential results in the event that electronic transmission failed. Defending the move, IEBC argued that in case the network fails to work in some regions, they need to find alternative means of transmitting results.
IEBC wanted results forms from polling stations delivered psychically as opposed to being sent electronically as an image.
"These are amendments that must be adopted in conformity with the Supreme and High Court rulings, otherwise I can foresee a repeat of 2017. Time is not on our side to continue dilly-dallying," IEBC Chief Executive Officer, Marjan Marjan, explained.
On voters identification, the Commission sought amendments, especially on Form 34A which the Supreme Court concluded should be used to declare presidential election results.
This means IEBC will be forced to employ the same rules used in the 2017 General Election in the upcoming polls.
Bomas of Kenya on Monday, May 23, 2022
