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{
    "id": 687590,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/687590/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 355,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "voters. This was without an audit. It was just an inspection carried out. They found out that there were more than 100,000 people who had been registered twice as voters. Probably the numbers could be more. Our proposal was that we should have an audit carried out, not only for purposes of elections in 2017, but it should be done every time before an election. If there were genuine complaints made, there should be inspections carried out. More importantly, the register that will be maintained now would require that, not only the names of the voter or eligible voter is contained in the register, the register would also contain the biometric data of the voter. To that extend, we would now need to carry out a complete verification of the voters who are in the register. This can only lead to the conclusion that before we go for elections in 2017, the commission shall within 30 days engage a reputable firm to conduct an audit of the register of voters for the purposes of verifying the accuracy of the register and also updating the register. This is contained in Clause No. 6 of the Bill. The conclusion in this is that once this verification is done, it would mean that whether you like it or not, it will be required that every voter on appearing before any polling station must identify himself not just through an identity card, but through biometrics. This would mean that after the audit we will have a new register in place, whether you like it or not. Clause No.17 of the Bill says:- “Subject to this section there is established an integrated electronic electoral system that enables biometrics of voter registration, electronic voter identification and electronic transmission of results.” Therefore, the electoral system that we have put in place would require that at the time of voting, your biometrics will have to be confirmed before you can be given a ballot paper. You will be electronically identified as a voter. The process of voting, that is, balloting and counting of votes, will remain manual. The other significant change is that there will be electronic transmission of results from the polling stations. That transmission will be relayed to the national tallying centre, the tallying centre at the constituency and to a public portal. One will be able to follow the counting of votes from polling stations, especially for the presidential election, from their house, offices of political parties, if they have got systems in place, as well as the media, so long as they have connectivity. Indeed, the Constitution says that the presidential elections results should be announced at the polling stations. We will not need to be at Bomas of Kenya like it happened before. People went to Bomas of Kenya or Kenyatta International Convention Centre to follow the tallying of votes. In other countries where the systems are like the ones we have proposed, people need not to be at a national tallying centre. All this will be happening in real time. What will be published are not just announcements; there will be a prescribed form of the tabulated results of the elections in every polling station. Those results will be relayed as published from the polling station results form into an online public portal. Therefore, the controversies that we have had in the past would not be there. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}