Nairobi — Poll officials in underserved areas may be forced to transmit electronic election results outside their gazetted areas should the backup internet infrastructure fail.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), which has already procured 1,111 satellite modems, to be deployed in areas without 4G/3G network required to transmit scanned results forms said officials may move to "other places with internet connectivity to transmit results."
"I don't think there is a country with 100 percent roll out of 3G network and 4G. Where there is no network there must be a provision where the presiding officer can move to another place and be able to transmit the same," IEBC CEO Marjan Hussein said on Wednesday during a televised interview.
The transmission on results outside gazetted polling centres was a thorny issue during the 2017 General Election.
The details on result transmission by the IEBC CEO could be an avenue for a legal suit in the event the satellite modems fail by accident or design as there is no legal basis for a complementary mechanism of results transmission outside listed areas.
Marjan's position during the interview implied results can be transmitted from the 290 constituency tallying centers where transmission fails in polling centres.
"It's possible that certain areas may still have difficulties in access to 3G and 4G and where that is the case the presiding officer can be able to transmit the same at the tallying center," said Marjan.
IEBC had proposed a complementary mechanism for result transmission -- through the Elections Amendment Bill, 2022 -- to address instances where challenges are encountered during the transmission of election results but the proposals were not adopted.
Transmission of results in Kenya's previous elections has been a significant challenge that has often fueled tension that follows after polls.
IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati elaborated that the smooth delivery in result transmission is dependent on the ability of mobile service providers to offer network coverage.
"We had a meeting with mobile service providers and there is a technical team working around that... .IEBC cannot do the elections on its own we need other stakeholders to come in and that we engage suppliers. The issue of internet connectivity is not on IEBC but for the enablers," Chebukati said.
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Communication Authority (CA) had assured that the transmission of results of the August 9, 2022 polls will be seamless as network coverage across the country had been strengthened.
The agency headed by Ezra Chiloba revealed that the 3G and 4G network coverage in the country is now at 96 per cent hence making the transmission of the results easier.
"In the event we are not able to reach the 100 percent mark before the election date, the point at which it can be transmitted will be within a reasonable distance so that all results can come from those centers straight to the tallying center in Nairobi," CA Director of Frequency Spectrum Management Tom Olwero said.
Olwero exuded confidence that things are bound to change during the high-stake polls in August.
"We are working now on the last bit of the coverage to ensure that all parts of the country where we require network are within reach of the 3G," he said.
In the 2017 General Election, according to the authority, network coverage was at 76 per cent with IEBC deploying satellite phones to areas with network challenges.
