Nairobi — Several human rights groups under the umbrella of Angaza movement now want the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to immediately release the final voters’ register, as part of measures to secure the integrity of the election.
In a joint statement, the group said that the register of voters being the getaway to the ballot box, is a highly sensitive and vital part of any electoral process, adding that without a credible register it is difficult to assess the credibility of elections.
Organizations represented under the umbrella include Africog, CRAWN Trust, HAKI YETU, MUHURI, ICJ-Kenya INUKA Kenya, MIDRIFT NETWORK, and INFORMACTION.
“It is now 31 days to the general election and Kenyans are yet to receive the aggregated voters’ register for the polling stations. By failing to publish the register for public inspection to date, IEBC is in direct contravention of election laws and regulations,” reads the statement.
According to the group, the register of voters has been at the center of election disputes in the country, and has been blamed for electoral irregularities including transfer of voters without their knowledge, duplicate identification records, discrepancies between the paper register and electronic version as well as shifting totals in the number of registered voters.
The group cited 2013 when a complaint was raised following unexplained shifts in the number of voters in certain party stronghold areas.
In 2017, the register was also contested for similar reasons.
Alongside releasing the register, the group also wants IEBC to release the KPMG voter Report Audit in its entirety to the public, and allow the public to see whether the commission has complied with KPMG’s recommendations.