IEBC STATEMENT PRESS RELEASE – IEBC
NAIROBI: Sunday, February 12, 2017
Last night at about midnight, the Commission received allegations of strangers registering voters in Eastleigh using BVR kits that were purportedly stolen from Mandera East Constituency. We followed up the matter with the police and this morning we have received a briefing from the Nairobi Police Commandant and his team. We therefore wish to report as follows:
1. Three individuals aged between 22 – 28 years were arrested and are now in police custody for questioning in relation to the case in point. During the arrest, the following items were recovered:
a. Photocopying/printing machine
b. Colored cartridge
c. Several voter transfer forms, 33 of them duly filled.
d. 83 Copies of National Identification Cards
e. One original acknowledgement slip
f. One ledger black book and a notebook filled with names.
2. The black book had names written from different constituencies indicating that the suspects might have been sourcing individuals for transfer. The transfer applications we to Mandera North Constituency.
3. There was no BVR kit found. In other words, there is no evidence that BVR kits were in possession or being used by the suspects.
Given this development, the Commission wishes to appreciate the quick intervention taken by the police to have suspects arrested and members of the public for being vigilant.
We are also aware that politicians are using all manner of tactics to boost their support base including voter transfers. It has become a case where leaders are choosing voters and not voters choosing leaders. That is not democracy. That is not what we are working for.
Having learnt from Phase I of Mass Voter Registration exercise, this time around the Commission centralized transfer applications at constituency level. The decision has helped to reduce incidents of mass transfers. But this must be combined with public vigilance to ensure that right things are being undertaken within our communities.
At this point, we want to assure the country that the process of registration and transfer of voters is very clear. With regards to registration, the Commission uses the BVR kits where the fingerprints, image and other details of the applicants are taken. At the end of the day, the information is transferred in an encrypted format into a flash drive that can only be decrypted once the flash disk is received at the regional or HQ IEBC servers. The BVR kits are not used during application for transfers.
Other Points of Clarification
The Commission wishes to encourage all eligible Kenyans to register as voters in the remaining three days.
1. All persons who have never registered as voters from November 19, 2012 up to now are eligible to register as long as they present valid documents.
2. Waiting cards cannot be used to register voters. The only valid documents are either your National ID Card or a valid passport. The legal provision that allowed waiting cards to be used for registration was expunged following the Election Laws (Amendment) Act 2017.
3. Those who had registered using passports in 2012 and their passports have since expired are urged to update their registration details. Expired passports will not be allowed during voting.
On our part as the Commission, we have deployed over 25,000 personnel across the country who are waiting to serve you. We have also deployed over 8,000 kits and opened opportunities in Universities, Colleges and Huduma Centres to ensure that as much as possible eligible Kenyans are registered.
EZRA CHILOBA
CEO/CS
Leave a Reply