US Carter Center Faults Kenya's Vote Transmission System

US election observer Carter Center has faulted the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission's electronic vote transmission system, saying it should be probed.

In its post-election report, the center said that failures in the results transmission system should be investigated.

The organization, which sent former US state secretary John Kerry to lead a team of other observers pointed out that significant instances where the electoral code of conduct was ignored existed.

“While the data entry of the results from KIEMS transmitted successfully to the national tally center, the early display of these tallies was not substantiated by scanned copies of the polling station result forms for the presidential race,” the report said, despite Kerry saying the elections were free and fair before he departed to the US.

“Many polling stations failed to fill out forms consistently for voters whom the KIEMS system did not recognize, but who were allowed to vote if they provided required ID and were on the voter list.”

The report further said that if the electoral commission tabulation process was fully implemented, it would have allowed “a high level of transparency and accountability”.

Carter Center also questioned the lack of transparency during the voters register audit and the reluctance by the electoral agency to make public the full KPMG report.

The center founded by former US president Jimmy Carter also noted that Kenyans were undeterred by long lines and voted a calm and peaceful atmosphere.

The center also called on those aggrieved with the election outcome to seek legal redress.

“If there are disputes about official election results, we urge candidates and parties to use established legal channels to resolve them and to ensure that their supporters remain calm throughout the remaining electoral period,” the report said.