NAIROBI — The Carter Center today released the preliminary report from its expert mission to Kenya’s Aug. 9 presidential election, which focuses on the use of election technology and finds that significant progress was made in using technology to enhance the transparency and verifiability of the election process.
The Center commends the efforts of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and Kenyan voters and calls on political leaders to encourage continued calm across the country and the peaceful transfer of power to the new government of President-elect William Ruto.
It notes that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission worked in a challenging context that included inflammatory online attacks against IEBC officials by senior political figures and incidents of violence against its staff. Though the Center’s report is complimentary of the IEBC’s overall efforts, it also finds that the commission did not do enough to help voters better understand the role of election technologies in the run-up to the election. As such, it missed an opportunity to increase public confidence in the processes surrounding procurement, voter registration, voter verification, and equipment testing.
Looking forward, the Center calls on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to move quickly to conduct a full review of the 2022 vote so that preparations for the 2027 election can begin far in advance of the polls. It also calls on lawmakers, the media, and civil society to do everything possible to support the IEBC’s facilitation of these preparations.
Given its limited focus on technology, the Carter Center’s expert team did not seek to assess the overall conduct of voting, counting, and tabulation processes in the general election, nor to make a comprehensive assessment of the election process as a whole.
The Carter Center mission collaborated with Privacy International, which provided analysis on privacy issues around election technologies. The team’s work continues and will culminate in the publication of a final report, which will include a series of recommendations. Its work also will provide input for a forthcoming Carter Center handbook that will focus on international best practice for scrutinizing election technology in line with international standards, which will be a resource for the election observation and assistance community.
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Contact: In Atlanta, Soyia Ellison, soyia.ellison@cartercenter.org
In Nairobi, Ben Graham Jones, ben.jones@cartercenter.org
Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope.
A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in over 80 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.
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