African Union ready to help Kenya buy voter kit

• The offer was made during an ongoing conference organised by the International Commission of Jurists at the Continental Resort in Mombasa.
• AU representative Ms Shumbana Karume said that the body was ready to give money to enable Kenya purchase the gear if a formal request was made.

The African Union has offered to assist Kenya purchase the biometric voter registration equipment needed to conduct the coming General Election.

The offer was made during an ongoing conference organised by the International Commission of Jurists at the Continental Resort in Mombasa.

While responding to participants’ question on the its role in promoting democratic consolidation in Kenya’s elections, AU representative Ms Shumbana Karume said that the body was ready to give money to enable Kenya purchase the gear if a formal request was made.

“We may provide financial support to Kenya for the equipment at any time but we have not received any request from them as yet,” she said.

AU would also technically support Kenya in its other missions of conducting pre-elections assessments and elections observations forums meeting.

The delay by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to acquire the equipment has spread fear that the elections may be conducted using the controversial manual voting system that was used in the discredited 2007 elections, leading to post election violence over which four suspects are due for trial over crimes against humanity at the Hague.

The AU offer could however have come a bit late after Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee (CIOC) chairman Mohammed Abdikadir said in Nairobi that the Canadian government had agreed to grant Kenya a concessional loan amounting to Sh4.6 billion for delivery of 15,000 kits. Previously IEBC would have bought 9,570 kits for Sh3.9 billion.

“The commission will now use the Sh3.9 billion for other purposes,” he said.

rokwany@ke.nationmedia.com