IEBC Statement on Disappearance of 3,000 KIEMS Kits

IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati speaking during the the Kenya national elections conference on Monday July 11, 2022
IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati speaking during the Kenya national elections conference on Monday, July 11, 2022
IEBC

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has denied reports that 3,000 KIEMS kits have gone missing.

In a statement dated Wednesday, August 3, IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati - in response to concerns raised by the Kenya Kwanza faction and the Azimio la Umoja brigade, reiterated that the reports were misleading.

Chebukati indicated that it was the BVR kits that had disappeared and that they were only used for the registration of voters in past elections.

Undated image of a Kenyan During a Past IEBC Voter Registration Exercise
A file image of someone registering as a voter in a past exercise.
Twitter
IEBC

Further, the electoral body downplayed fears that stolen KIEMS kits can be used to manipulate poll results insisting that they had put in measures to prevent such incidents.

"This report is false and misleading. The Auditor General's report made reference to BVR kits and not KIEMS kits. BVR kits are used for voter registration and not voting. The Commission procured 15,000 BVR kits in 2012 that have technically reached the end of life.

"The Commission keeps an inventory of all its kits and in the event of any loss, the kit will be blocked from doing any transaction on the system," read the statement in part.

Additionally, the Chebukati-led agency insisted that the Form 34's - used for tabulating presidential results cannot be tampered with given the special features they had put in them.

"These measures include but are not limited to visible and invisible security features, polling station data personalization, barcodes and QR codes.

"IEBC  in partnership with the National Police Service has deployed armed security to guard ballot papers in transit and at the respective warehouses," he stated.

However, the Electoral body stated that discrepancies on the presidential results form can only be resolved by the presiding officers at the polling station or the supreme court.

"Complaints with respect to the results announced at the polling station must be resolved by the Presiding Officer.

"Any complaints or discrepancies that may arise in the results Form 34A can only be resolved by the Supreme Court through a Presidential Election Petition pursuant to the decision in Raila Amolo Odinga & Another v Independent Electoral and BoundariesCommission & 2 others (2017)" Chebukati stated.

Azimio La Umoja presidential candidate Raila Odinga (left) his UDA counterpart DP William Ruto at Uhuru Gardens and Makueni County respectively.
Azimio La Umoja presidential candidate Raila Odinga (left) his UDA counterpart DP William Ruto at Uhuru Gardens and Makueni County respectively.
Raila Odinga/DPPS
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