The Bill is seeking to amend Section 39 (1D) of the Elections Act by adding the words “and the physically delivered results”, sealing a window that the Supreme Court had cited in nullifying the 2017 presidential election results.
In its 2017 ruling, the Supreme Court narrowed down on 11,000 polling stations, some of them in Kiambu, Murang’a, Kisumu town, and other places that generally have good network, and which the IEBC said could not transmit their results forms because of lack of network.
“It is common knowledge that most parts of those counties have fairly good road network infrastructure. Even if we were to accept that all of them are off the 3G and/or 4G network range, it would take, at most, a few hours for the presiding officers to travel to vantage points from where they would electronically transmit the results,” the judges ruled, terming the failure an “inexcusable contravention”.
The new Bill now makes it possible for election results to be delivered physically or by other means where it is not possible to do so electronically.
“The commission shall verify that the results transmitted and the physically delivered results under this section are an accurate record of the results tallied, verified and declared at the respective polling stations,” says the new Bill, sponsored by Majority Leader Amos Kimunya.
For Kenya, the proposed return to a physical delivery of elections results is an expensive one.
The proposed law wants all ward representatives’ election petitions to terminate at the High Court, in what it hopes will avoid crowding of the Court of Appeal, which is the appellate court for all other election petitions.
The Bill also wants those seeking to dispute IEBC’s decision to accept or reject nomination papers — before party primaries winners or independents are declared candidates — to do so within 48 hours after the last day of such an exercise.
It also sets conditions for transfer of voters, the key provision that allows Kenyans to move from one polling station to another in any constituency in the country, or outside it, where the IEBC is registering voters.
If the Bill passes, those seeking to transfer will be required to prove that they are employed, own a business, or possess land or a residential building — for at least six months — in the constituency they intend to transfer to.
Elections Bill seeks to provide for complimentary mechanisms for voter identification and transmission of results.
nation.africa
We bashed maraga yet when steps are taken to correct the abnormally we cry foul, watu wa ku rent no more transferring .