It was the ultimate test for the electoral body

Wednesday’s referendum was the ultimate opportunity for the Interim Independent Electoral Commission to prove that it can handle elections ahead of the 2012 polls.

The spotlight remains firmly on the IIEC despite having successfully conducted four by-elections since it was formed. A free and fair referendum with prompt announcement of the results was likely to enhance the confidence that Kenyans have been building on the electoral system since the 2007 elections.

The IIEC replaced the defunct Electoral Commission of Kenya, which was accused of bungling the 2007 presidential elections.
The disputed results were said to be the trigger of the violence that followed the polls and led to the death of 1,133 Kenyans and the displacement of 65,000 others.

The IIEC took the referendum as its greatest challenge before the next General Elections. Its mandate ends in December 2010 but, if the new constitution is implemented to the letter, IIEC’s term will come to an end six months after the 2012 elections.

The IIEC has a mandate to reform the country’s electoral system, which was found to be ‘irretrievably polluted’ by a commission that investigated the 2007 elections. It is supposed to put in place institutional and legal reforms aimed at streamlining the country’s electoral system.

The Kriegler commission recommended the disbandment of ECK and discarding of the electoral register. The roll was found to contain millions of voters who had either registered more than once or were dead. In the months of May and June, the IIEC conducted a fresh voter registration drive, which saw 12.6 million people listed.

Clean up

However, after a month’s clean up, 200,000 names were struck out of the list, with 50,000 people still at risk of spending six months in jail for multiple registration. The manual voting system was also found wanting and the IIEC was tasked to put in place an electronic structure.

Electronic voting and tallying is seen as one of the ways that will help the country improve transparency of the elections. During the voter registration, the electoral body carried out pilot electronic enrolment in 18 constituencies, and aims to have all the 12.4 million voters in the electronic register.

The greatest test for the IIEC was the use of technology to relay data electronically from all the polling centres to the national tally centre at Bomas of Kenya, Nairobi. However, this information was provisional since the law only recognises the manual forms as the legal source of electoral results.

The IIEC, in conjunction with the Kenya Law Reform Commission, has prepared two Bills that seek to legitimise some of the reforms that are taking place. These proposed laws are the Elections Bill, which seeks to consolidate all laws relating to elections in Kenya, and the Electoral Commission Bill, which seeks to set out, in detail, the composition, powers and functions of the new electoral body.

A delay of the presidential poll results from some of the areas during the 2007 elections contributed to rising tension in the country as the ECK could not give a clear verdict three days after the polling had closed. Therefore, with a deadline of 48 hours to deliver the results of the referendum, the IIEC had hired planes to airlift Returning Officers from 42 constituencies.

Enhanced security

The IIEC also replaced the traditional black ballot boxes with transparent ones, and enhanced security features in all the electoral documents used at the referendum. The Kriegler report noted that the institutional legitimacy of the ECK and public confidence in the professional credibility of its commissioners and staff had been gravely and reversibly impaired.

It added that the former ECK lacked functional efficiency and was incapable of properly discharging its mandate. The IIEC had the opportunity to reverse this perception by conducting the referendum in a manner perceived to be free and fair.