NAIROBI, Kenya Jul 19 – The Election Observation Group has urged the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to investigate failures involving the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS) kits and fingerprint authentication recorded during the July 16 Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election.
In recommendations released after its election observation mission, ELOG said the electoral commission should document every case of biometric failure, including instances where complementary voter identification procedures were used.
The organization Chairman Victor Nyongesa also asked the commission to provide clear and uniform guidance on accreditation requirements for observers and party agents, investigate delays in the opening of polling stations and ensure statutory election result forms are publicly displayed as required by law.
“Investigate and document all KIEMS and fingerprint-authentication failures, including use of complementary identification procedures,” he said.
The Election Observation Group reported a voter turnout of 55.1 percent in polling streams observed during the July 16 Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election, while emphasizing that the figures do not represent the official constituency-wide election results.
According to the election observer mission, the matched polling streams recorded 7,963 valid votes and 55 rejected ballots.
“The official results from ELOG-covered streams show a decisive lead for Sammy Douglas Kamau and a turnout of 55.1 percent in the matched locations. However, the results are not a constituency-wide sample and should not be used as an independent declaration or projection,” the report stated.
ELOG said its observers were deployed across all five wards in Ol Kalou, enabling the organization to monitor polling station opening, voting, incident management and official results verification through a digital reporting system.
