IEBC responds to fears of power outages on election day

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has responded to queries of the way forward in case there is a power blackout on Tuesday, August 9, and the KlEMS kits run out of charge.

Addressing key questions raised by presidential campaign secretariats and other stakeholders regarding the August 9 General Election, IEBC on Wednesday assured Kenyans that the KIEMS kits have additional two power banks each, capable of carrying it through the voting and transmission exercise.

“The KIEMS kit has an internal battery and two external batteries (power banks) that are fully charged before deployment. The three batteries have sufficient power to last beyond the voting and transmission period,” said the commission in a statement.

On the issue of possible internet failures, the Wafula Chebukati-led commission pointed out that the KIEMS kit voter identification function is offline hence does not require network connectivity.

“For purposes of electronic transmission of results, the KIEMS kit is fitted with both primary and secondary GSM sim cards to ensure continuity of the network in case one fails,” added IEBC.

The Commission also stated that it will also deploy satellite modems as back up and in case of failure.

IEBC has also been queried about cases of insecurity which might prevent voters from carrying out a smooth exercise, specifically, at what point the commission can call off elections at a polling station, centre or region. 

The commission stated that only a presiding Officer, in consultation with the

Returning Officer, can adjourn the voting process and re-start at the earliest practicable moment once security and calm is restored.

“The voting process shall be extended by the amount of time the voting process has been stopped,” said Chebukati

Additionally, the Returning Officer can postpone the elections to the earliest practicable time after security is restored.

All polling stations will be open from 6:00 am to 5:00 pm and in case of delays, the commission stated that the Presiding officer shall extend the hours of polling by the amount of time lost by starting late.

At the same time, Chebukati noted that the last batch of ballot papers will be delivered on Wednesday, August 3, ahead of Tuesday’s polls.

He noted that all KIEMS kits are ready for dispatch, with six back up KIEMS kits set to be supplied per ward.

Should there be instances of exigencies such as flash floods, violence or insecurity, the presiding officer will transmit the results at the Constituency Tallying Centre.

To facilitate the transmission of results in the 290 Constituencies, Chebukati said IEBC will provide stand-by generators in addition to the grid power.