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Today is the second day of the National Election Conference which aims to have the delegates share experiences on the conduct of elections, and present measures the Commission has put in place for secure, safe, legitimate, and credible General Election.
Hilary Mutyambai, the Inspector General of Kenya National Police, said they are prepared to support IEBC. The police started by escorting the voting materials and ballot papers to different stations.
“We have identified and trained enough police officers to conduct the exercise and have enough backup team. The police are ready, fully prepared to support IEBC and see the election is conducted peacefully,” said Mutyambai.
Commissioner Justus Nyang’aya noted that IEBC is using technology in voter identification and result transmission.
“Voters will be identified for the General Election through biometrics by use of fingerprints or alphanumeric through ID card or passport numbers,” said Nyang’aya.
The law requires the Commission to use KIEMS in voter identification and result transmission.
“The Commission has secured 55,000 KIEMS kits for general election of which 14,100 are new. There are 46,243 polling stations and there will be six supplementary KIEMS kits provided as backup and a power back-up for every kit,” said Justus Nyang’aya
Communication Authority of Kenya said during the panel discussion that over 96.4 percent of Kenya’s population is now covered by 3G or 4G network up from 78 percent in 2017. Only 1,111 of polling centers out of 46,243 will use alternative technologies for transmission of General Election results including satellite modems.
The Panel discusses sustainable improvements to voter registration, verification, and results from transmission and provisions for effective implementation and quality assurance of the current technology.
The panel also discussed the pathway and the protocols in results transmission including data protection and privacy, what IEBC needs to be done to enhance the use of technology in managing elections and the contingency mechanisms to address unforeseen situations.
