Former Bungoma senatorial candidate Juma Mukhwana has filed a petition seeking to stop IEBC from using electronic systems of voting during elections across the country.
In a petition filed before the high court, Mukhwana wants section 39 and 44 of the elections act declared unconstitutional.
He argues that the electronic system used by IEBC is not simple, accurate and verifiable by the common ‘mwananchi’.
He says the electronic transmission of election results denies, violates and infringes his political rights in article 38 (2) of the bill of rights particularly his right to free, fair and regular elections based on universal suffrage.
Mukhwana also argues that the KIEM system is not simple, accurate, secure and transparent as prescribed in the constitution.
“The ordinary voter represented by the imagery if Wanjiku did not and could not independently examine and verify the accuracy of the electronically transmitted results because he has no knowledge of electronically operating such systems,” read the petition.
He also claims that a voter must be able to verify whether his or her vote cast is transmitted truthfully without a more detailed knowledge of computers.
“An election procedure in which the voter cannot reliably comprehend where his or her vote is transmitted without falsification and included in the ascertainment of the election result, excludes central elements of the election procedure from public monitoring,” he argues.
Mukhwana further says that electronic transmission of results is susceptible to manipulation with relatively little effort from techno-survey individuals and can therefore be used to provide a preset percentage in the final results for a candidate prior to commencement of the elections without this coming to light.
The petitioner also argues that the fact that the KIEMS are under the control and management of a foreign based company and not the IEBC, compounds the situation.
