The Supreme Court has issued recommendations that could fix the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission ( IEBC) administrative shortfalls.
In a judgment issued on Monday September 26 over the August 9 General elections petitions, the Martha Koome led court highlighted corporate governance issues, election technology, and the design of Forms 34A as topics requiring attention.
Regarding corporate governance, the judges have urged a clear division of powers between the Commission’s chairperson and other commissioners in terms of policy, strategy, and supervision duties.
“The roles of the chairperson, commissioners, and the Chief Executive Officer, other staff and third parties should be clearly set out in both the legislative and administrative edicts as stipulated above,” the court said.
Regarding election technology, whose alleged manipulation formed the majority of the petitioners’ arguments, the supreme court ruled that access to the servers should be restricted to IEBC workers throughout the election time in order to minimize suspicion from stakeholders.
“IEBC should ensure that the servers supporting the elections and those serving their internal administrative work are distinct and separate,” the court said
“This would then allow the Court, should the need arise, to carry out forensic imaging of the same without compromising or infringing any third party agreements,” it added.
The apex court also stated that the IEBC should consider redesigning Forms 34A and include a column that accounts for stray ballots.
The Chebukati led commission struggled to adequately explain to the court at the petition hearing how stray ballots are accounted for during an election.
“The Independent body may also find it prudent to thoroughly train it Returning Officers as to what constitutes valid votes as per this court’s decision,” the court said.
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