IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati has downplayed claims of a scheme to rig the August election and has called for sobriety in the ongoing voter registration exercise.
“We wish to confirm that some of the numbers highlighted by the CORD Leader are indeed part of the 128,926 ID numbers that are subject of the ongoing cleanup process. For the avoidance of doubt, most of these numbers were keyed into the system during the 2012 registration drive and do not relate to the current Mass Voter Registration campaign. This is a historical issue and should not be used to discredit the ongoing registration drive," IEBC chairperson said in a statement to newsrooms.
He said the IEBC attributes the duplication of some 128 thousand ID numbers in the BVR data system to data entry errors at the time of registration or attempts by individuals to register more than once.
The Commission assured Kenyans that the process of cleaning up the register is in good hands and that concerns raised by opposition leader Raila Odinga over double registration were being addressed.
This follows claims by Cord leader Raila Odinga that a former commissioner at IEBC who was dropped as cabinet secretary is spearheading a scheme to manipulate the voter register by sneaking in ghost voters.