The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has promised the country that its technology will be impenetrable during the voting period.
According to the agency, the Kenya Integrated Elections Management System (KIEMS) has been designed to make it almost impossible to fail.
The technology will be deployed to all the 40,833 polling stations to help identify voters electronically, regularly transmit turnout statistics, and capture and transmit election results.
“If the voter is registered at that particular station, the details will be displayed on the screen. The voter will be verified and allowed to proceed to the next table to be issued with ballot papers,” the commission’s information communication technology manager, Chris Msando, told a local daily.
Further, the agency notes that if the finger print search fails, the verification clerk will do a search by either reading the Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) of the voter’s ID/passport or type in the ID/passport number.
Each kit will have only specific voters for the 40,833 polling stations and will be equipped with two unique sim cards that are connected to a Virtual Private Network (VPN) that has been mapped for that area.
During the 2013 general polls, the kits failed in several parts of the country, some when power went off while others simply went off.
“In addition, each KIEMS device will be deployed with a power bank with a capacity of 16 hours. In total, the power retention will be 24 hours,” Msando added.
The issue of rigging the polls has been a major concern for the opposition, who claim the commission is not prepared to hold the elections.
The alliance has also accused the government of being hell bent in rigging the elections, claims that the Jubilee Party has rubbished.