Will we be well prepared for August polls?

A few weeks ago, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) published timelines for the next set of activities leading to the August 8 General Election. The highlights of those timelines were party primaries and finalisation of the voter register. A look at those timelines will reveal that the journey towards the election day has several hurdles. They are not only strict, but are interrelated. A few days after the notice appeared in the press, several friends of mine asked whether it is truly possible to conduct an election in 2017?

The IEBC is normally asked the above question. The rationale for this arises from the constitutional obligation imposed on the commission to conduct elections. It is, important, however, for all of us to attempt to answer this question.
This is meant to appreciate that the assessment on whether we are ready for 2017 elections and the implications of our answer rests on the entire citizenry.

In answering the question, it is important to appreciate the importance of the next elections. They will be the most competitive and high stakes elections in the country’s history.

One only needs to review the events of the last one month and the seriousness with which the political class took mobilisation for voter registration to reach this conclusion.

The importance of those elections is also evident by the increased interest of the elective seats being vied for. This interest has been enhanced by the allure of the county positions. While party primaries are just under two months away, politicians are already positioning themselves with those timelines in mind.

They are moving to parties where they think they will be able to jump the party primary hurdle and be on the ballot paper on election day.

With this in mind, the concerns about the state of preparedness for the elections are genuine. The answers to the question and what we do with the answers is not as simple. First, as a country, we have served ourselves a less than optimal preparatory process.

The commissioners who are going to conduct this election only came into office a few weeks ago. We have charged them with the responsibility of delivering on events in the electoral cycle that should be done throughout the five-year period. Our concerns must consequently be tempered with reality.

There are several critical events that will determine whether we are able to have credible elections. The first one is the quality of the voters’ register. Contrary to what a friend of mine told me five years ago, I believe the voters’ register is the show stopper as far as an election process is concerned. We have passed the first hurdle of having people registered as voters. At the close of the registration period, IEBC figures show that there will be about 19 million voters.

Registration is only half the story. The next stages in finalisation of the voter register are critical. If we can be able to have a credible register by June, we will have jumped a huge step on the road to credible elections. People will remember that in 2013, the voter register was a huge point of contestation.

Already, the IEBC has reported that slightly over one million voters applied to transfer their voting stations. This may mean that these voters have aligned their place of voting to where they expect to be on August 8. This will ensure that turnout is high.

However, a concern that the transfers have raised relates to voter importation. As these concerns get ventilated we must recognise that this problem has been aided by past amendments to the law, which removed the requirements of residency and possession of property as a condition for determination of where one votes.

This is an area that will require rethought. In the meantime, it should be remembered that opportunity exist on election day by security and electoral agencies looking out for those being transported to go and vote, which is an election offence.

Party primaries is another problematic area. The law has been amended to try and address some of the concerns in the past relating to how these primaries are conducted, including provisions to ensure only registered members of political parties are able to vote.

The task of delivering credible party primaries is mainly a responsibility for political parties.