Tech issues threaten to delay upcoming Kenya election rerun
'Changing the date is a last resort,' country's election board says
Issues with polling technology are threatening to delay the upcoming rerun of the Kenya election scheduled for Oct. 17.
A French information technology company that supplied the electronic system used in last month's nullified election is unable to prepare the technology in time for the election.
In a letter from Paris-based OT-Morpho to Kenya's election commission, the company stated the two electronic systems they provided for the vote would have to be reinstalled for the rerun.
"This represents a very significant amount of work, which cannot be secured by October 17," said the letter dated Sept. 18 and seen by Reuters. A spokesperson for the company confirmed the letter was accurate.
Andrew Limo, a spokesperson for the election board, said he was aware of the letter and said the board met on Monday to discuss it. Earlier in the day, he told Reuters that "changing the date [of the election rerun] is a last resort strategy."
OT-Morpho provided 45,000 tablets for identifying voters using biometric technology and the system used to transmit
results counted at polling stations as well as a photograph of the paper sheet from each station. Delays in transmission of the tally sheets was an irregularity raised by the opposition in its petition to the Supreme Court.
Earlier this month, Kenya's Supreme Court nullified the results of the presidential election held on Aug. 8 citing irregularities and ordered a new poll within 60 days. The election board then declared the rerun of the election would be held on Oct. 17. The court's decision to nullify an election was a first on the African continent.The court has not released its full verdict but has said it will do so by Thursday.
The date of the new poll has been a source of tension between incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta and opposition leader Raila Odinga. Kenyatta and his ruling Jubilee party have said the rerun should be held on Oct. 17 as scheduled by the commission, while the opposition is threatening to boycott the new poll if its demands for the sacking of key election officials are not met.