NASA Issues Fresh Demands to IEBC

National Super Alliance (NASA) has questioned the electoral body IEBC over electronic transmission of election results, accusing the electoral body of not consulting key stakeholders in the electoral process, particularly political parties.

While the opposition acknowledged the IEBC’s efforts in fulfilling this requirement by contacting three mobile operators namely Safaricom, Airtel and Telcom to support it the electronic transmission of results, NASA now wants the poll body to listen to the opposition's views as it continues with its preparations.

NASA coalition, in a letter to IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati wants IEBC to apply to the Communications Authority of Kenya for allocation of numbers unique to each zone with each zone having its own mobile destination code.

“Each polling station should receive an allocation of only one number,” stated NASA.

“All mobile network providers must, in their contracts, clearly state that no more than one sim card shall be provided for the same number.”

“Mobile operators should guarantee and provide to IEBC more encryption in the sim card software that will protect it from hacking.”

The opposition’s demands comes barely three days after its leader Raila Odinga announced that the Opposition had been enjoined in the Court of Appeal case in which the poll body is seeking to reverse a High Court ruling on the tallying of presidential polls.

On April 4, 2017, the high court ruled that presidential election results announced at the polling station and constituency levels will be final, a ruling a directive the electoral management body wants reversed.

NASA has threatened to boycott the August 8 polls if the IEBC succeeds in having the ruling reversed.