In an unexpected move, Kenya’s Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), the body responsible for management of voting in the country, has announced that it will invite hackers to tamper with its electronic system, in a bid to assure voters of “maximum security.”
IEBC chief executive James Oswago said: “We are confident that our system is tamper-proof. However, sometime in November we will invite those who think they can hack into the system to do it. We want Kenyans to have confidence in the system.”
The said month will precede the country’s general election scheduled for March 4, next year.
The electronic system will be used for the transmission of provisional results to the headquarters from the voting stations, so as to allow uniform reporting by all the media houses in the country during the election.
“We will screen live all presidential results and we will allow the media access to our servers to ensure uniform reporting,” said IEBC chairman Issack Hassan in an article published by the Daily Nation newspaper.
The 2013 general elections will not be conducted electronically. However, IEBC will introduce a system for voters to electronically verify their registration details.
“The purpose of introducing biometric voter registration is to ensure that we enhance the integrity of the elections and avoid cases of double registration. You will be required to use your thumbprint to prove that you are registered and you haven’t voted again,” said Oswago.
IEBC is under close scrutiny from the public and international bodies as its predecessor, the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK), was blamed for the mismanagement of the 2007 elections that led to disputed election results and later ethnic clashes.
