PSC on the spot after costly electronic gadgets fail in Parliament

The PSC is particularly under scrutiny after the electronic voting system failed on two Special Sessions called late last month to pass the contentious Political Parties (Amendments) Bill, 2021 which provides for the formation of a coalition political party.

The Speaker of the National Assembly Justin Muturi has once again recalled MPs for another special sitting that will take place from tomorrow to Friday to conclude the Bill before it can be forwarded to the Senate for input.

The recall followed disruptions by MPs opposed to the Bill who demanded physical vote on every amendment as opposed to voting by acclamation.

When the vote was called, it emerged that the electronic voting system was dysfunctional and hence the decision to resort to the time consuming manual voting.

Members have been provided with technology that allows them to use special cards them take part in debates and vote without leaving their seats.

To operate the single-user computerised system, a Member will be required to insert the card, then enter a four-digit personal identification number before pressing the microphone for the PIN to be accepted.

“Kenyans deserve to know why the electronic voting system failed on both occasions of the special sittings,” Jeremiah Kioni, the chairperson of the Constitutional Implementation Committee said.

“We need to know if somebody deliberately tampered with the system to frustrate the Bill from being concluded through the second and third reading,” the Ndaragwa MP said.

Nyamira Senator Okongo Omogeni wondered why the electronic voting system could fail at the National Assembly and not the Senate which takes all its decision through a vote on the system.