advertisement
OT-Morpho prompts date change for Kenya’s presidential election
French firm OT-Morpho, has put Kenya’s election re-run earlier slated for 17th October in doubt, prompting the country’s election body…
French firm OT-Morpho, has put Kenya’s election re-run earlier slated for 17th October in doubt, prompting the country’s election body to presidential election date to 26th October to accommodate the technology firm the opportunity to ready the voting systems on time.
The presidential election date was rescheduled following Kenya’s Supreme Court ruling on the elections that annulled the results on 1st September, citing irregularities. OT-Morpho according to sources formally wrote a letter to Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) informing it that the earlier date – 17th October – announced by Wafula Chebukati, commission chairman that time would not be sufficient to get all systems running.
“Details of the potential delay for October’s re-run emerged in a letter from OT-Morpho to the electoral commission, obtained by Reuters news agency. An election official also confirmed the potential delay to the BBC,” BBC Africa reported.
advertisement
“The letter, dated 18 September, said two different electronic systems used in the vote would have to be reinstalled for a re-run,” they added.
The IEBC appointed the company to provide the necessary technology to power the Kenya Integrated Elections Management System (KIEMS) for the general elections.
The company provided IEBC with biometric tablets. More than 45,000 MorphoTablet were used to verify the voters list before the election and to authenticate the voters with their fingerprints and photo before allowing them to vote.
advertisement
At the time the firm was selected to provide the solutions Anne Bouverot, CEO and Chair of Safran Identity & Security, said in an April press release:
“We are providing the IEBC with a complete and secure solution in record time in order to contribute to the successful organization and delivery of these elections. We thank the IEBC for entrusting us as a partner in this major democratic event for Kenya.”
Currently though, it is the Irregularities in the transmission of results that was one of the problems referenced by the Supreme Court when it annulled the August poll’s results.