Across the globe, the use of different forms of technology has been rising in electoral processes. More countries have adopted the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to enhance the election process while improving transparency.
In Kenya, for instance, ICT plays a huge role in elections, particularly because the country uses biometrics or electronic voter registration and identification.
The ICT systems range from the creation of voter registers based on biometric identification, the identification of voters, the adoption of systems to tabulate and transfer voting results, and electronic voting.
Kenya’s adoption of this technology has contributed significantly to higher voter turnout, improved accuracy of counting, and faster publication of results. It has also enhanced the efficiency or easier logistics of elections. In a nutshell, the ICT systems put in place have ensured the integrity of the electoral process and therefore enhanced citizens’ trust in democracy.
When talking about these new technologies, however, it is worth noting that in most cases, the ICT systems used are not available for the public to interact with. This is mainly because they are only used by election administrators. These are applications such as electoral registers, software for registration of parties and candidates, and software for tallying and calculating results. These are the systems that came into play in Kenya in 2022.
For example, the recently concluded elections in Kenya were historic, as it were, due to the level of transparency upheld by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
IEBC deployed over 55,000 electronic machines to identify voters and send results across the country. These machines, known as the KIEMs kits, identified voters by their fingerprints against a digital register which allowed them to vote. The votes were then counted, and the official form displaying the outcome from each polling station was photographed and transmitted digitally.
This was made possible through the use of the Results Transmission and Presentation System (RTS). A system used by the IEBC for transmitting provisional results electronically to an observation center. And its success has been remarkable. Through the system, everyone across the globe could watch live streams of results on the big screens set up by IEBC at observation centers or on national television.
Some of the successes we celebrate include the KIEMs kits functioning impeccably thanks to the improved network coverage across the country. Over the years, in its regulatory capacity, the Communication Authority of Kenya (CA), has worked with Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) to guarantee internet connectivity even in remote areas across the country.
This is a big leap for Kenya. Through ICT adoption, we can confidently say that the use of technology has significantly reduced incidences of electoral malpractices such as ballot stuffing, result sheet mutilation, manipulations, overvoting, alteration of result sheets, and hijacking of ballot boxes in the history of Kenyan elections.
Of course, there are a few areas of improvement, including the purging of registers for deceased voters and ensuring that IEBC officials are always up to the task before any general election. Far from that, it goes without saying that Kenya’s adoption of ICT solutions in elections has played a huge role in transparency.
Thankfully, the IEBC has employed several innovative approaches to improve the management and conduct of elections in the country. As years pass by, IEBC gets more sophisticated with its technologies to meet international standards. This, alongside CA’s commitment to ensuring that the country has reliable internet connectivity, especially at polling stations for easy transmission of results, is the hallmark of integrity, fairness, and the conduction of transparent elections in Kenya.