Low Turnout, Memes, KIEMS Kits: Highlights Of August 9 Elections
Much of the conversation was surrounding the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS) kits before even the polls began
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Five years since the controversy that forced Kenyans to vote twice in the 2017 general elections, the Tuesday, August 9, 2022, general elections took place with several eventualities quite a number would like to forget and others remember.
Much of the conversation was surrounding the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS) kits before even the polls began and the issue of the KIEMS kits' functionality was brought to the limelight again.
Early To Vote
Azimio la Umoja presidential running mate Martha Karua was the first major candidate to arrive at the polling station at Mugumo Primary School in Gichugu Constituency to cast her vote.
She is vying for the deputy running mate position in the Azimio la Umoja coalition, with her boss, Raila Odinga, making his fifth attempt at securing the State House seat.
Martha Karua casting her vote on August 9, 2022. /TWITTER
"I was redirected to another station where my name was found. I have voted and you can see the ink. Please get out and vote. It is our day today to determine the direction this country takes," she said after casting her vote.
15 minutes after her arrival, polling stations countrywide open officially and candidates moved in to cast their votes for candidates in the categories of President, Governor, Senator, Woman Representative, Member of the National Assembly and Member of the County Assembly.
Deputy President William Ruto, the Kenya Kwanza candidate, cast his vote five minutes after the opening time at Kosachei Primary School polling Station, Sugoi alongside his wife, Mama Rachel Ruto.
"I feel very good that after very many months of campaigning and selling our agenda and manifesto, it is D-day and we have come to vote with my wife and neighbours.
"As you have seen, everyone here wants a peaceful process. We even had a spontaneous prayer. I ask all voters to do these exercises peacefully and deliberately so that we can choose the men and women to take this country to the next level. It is upon all of us to respect the choices of the people of Kenya as will be done today in every part of the Republic of Kenya," he addressed.
Kenya Kwanza Running mate Rigathi Gachagua and his wife Dorcas Wanjiku arrived at a polling station in Mathira Constituency to cast his ballot one hour later, with Agano party presidential candidate, David Mwaure Waihiga and his running mate, Ruth Mutua, following suit.
"I voted and I came at around 7:15 a.m. because some of the colleagues asked me to delay as they were still setting up systems. I am happy to have exercised my right to vote. I remind Kenyans that this is not just a constitutional right but it is also a sacred right. I expect to win. If I lose I will concede."
Dramatic Stunts
What's a general election without its fair share of humour? Since the 'Githeri Man' trend in the 2017 polls, when Martin Kamotho lined up to vote armed with maize and beans meal (Githeri), daring Kenyans have been pulling stunts of their own.
In Uasin Gishu county, a man's live interview with Citizen TV's reporter Chemutai Goin would ignite a flurry of bizarre moments that have since gone viral, especially after the man appeared to freeze like a deer in headlights when Goin posed to him any concerns on the electoral process.
"Can you kindly tell us your concerns over the election given that there were requests to postpone the polls over cases of insecurity? As a voter who is already in the queue to cast your vote, what is your opinion?" Goin posed.
There's already a contender for meme of the day!
????: @citizentvkenya #KenyaDecides2022 pic.twitter.com/98Cafullb6 — Viral Tea Kenya (@ViralTeaKe) August 9, 2022
"Kulingana na mimi sina maoni. Sina maoni kabisa (I do not have any response worth offering. I really do not have anything to say)," he responded, sending the journalist and the crowd into laughter.
Two subsequent stunts of similar nature went head to head for the whole day. One man's show of bravery by showing up to the queue wrapped in a towel was quickly overshadowed by a man who showed up at the Kisumu Central polling station with a towel over his waist, a toothbrush in his mouth and was bare-chested like he had just come out to exercise his civic duty and head back to the shower.
According to the man, he was in the bathroom when his friend called him, asking him to go to vote. He figured dressing up would be a waste of time.
Another stunt captured a man eating a loaf of bread as he waited for his chance to vote. Talk about getting up early and rushing to cast your vote while carrying breakfast with you.
Towel man and mkate man casting their vote on August 9, 2022. /VIRALTEAKE
Viral comedian Arap Marindich also showed up at a polling station with his 'rally driver' gear and a dusty face as seen in his memes. Gospel singer Ringtone Apoko – in his usual character of pulling dramatic stunts- walked into Milimani Primary School polling centre with a bible to read as he waited to cast his vote.
KIEMS Kits Failing
The bone of contention started when reports of KIEMS kits failing in multiple polling stations across the country created uncertainty over the voter registration process, given that the Court of Appeal had just given the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) a lifeline by overturning a High Court ruling on the use of the manual register during the Tuesday, August 9 poll, pending the hearing and determination of the case.
Speaking to the press on Tuesday, August 9, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Vice Chairperson Juliana Cherera noted that the regions had experienced a malfunction of KIEMS kits and they had approved the use of the manual voters register in select areas of Makueni and Kakamega counties.
She revealed that there were 84 polling stations in the Kibwezi constituency and 54 polling stations in Malava, Matungu, Mumias East and Mumias West constituencies that were affected by the KIEMS kits' malfunction.
“Our ICT officers are on the ground, and when they are called upon in the polling station, they ascertain its failure of the kit and not any other failure. In this case, it has been ascertained as the commissioners have written emails and therefore have been given the leeway to use manual register,” she noted.
“What we have received is 200 failures of KIEMS kit of 46,229. It’s not widespread; technology does break down, and when they do, we have a mechanism to rectify it. That’s normal, and there is nothing ideal out of it,” Commissioner Justus Nyangaya weighed in.
The failures had affected top candidates such as Rigathi Gachagua and Nairobi Woman Representative, Esther Passaris as well as Roots party Presidential candidate, George Wajackoyah, who was not too pleased with how IEBC handled the failure.
“I am a disappointed man because all my competitors have voted; I am told Raila voted, Mwaure has already voted. I just spoke with him to congratulate him, and Ruto has voted. So why only me? Why Kakamega County? Why didn't they test the kits?” Wajackoyah posed.
"Some stations opened later and in some, the process is slow. Just as we suspected some people cannot be identified biometrically and they have to refer to the manual register. Unfortunately some of those who opposed it could not also be identified," Raila weighed in after the failure reports became widespread.
Raila Shuts Kibra Down on Voting Day
Raila provided possibly the grand highlight of the presidential candidates when he ground the Kibra constituency to a halt on his way to voting at Old Kibera Primary School.
He arrived in a convoy of vehicles accompanied by his wife Mama Ida Odinga from Karen. Residents under the famous firimbi movement swarmed his car and escorted Raila’s convoy on foot, causing heavy traffic on the route as well as raising noise levels above the roof with their whistles and excited chants.
Arrests
There are always those one or two individuals who disrupt an otherwise peaceful electoral process. For instance, two people were arrested in Imara Daima, Embakasi South constituency after they were caught allegedly transporting unsealed election materials.
Four women were detained for alleged voter bribery at Toi primary school polling station in Kibra, Nairobi County.
Nakuru East MP, David Gikaria was arrested for allegedly fighting an opponent's supporters during the August 9 general elections. He was taken into police custody at the Naka Primary School polling station, while members of the public were lining up to cast their votes.
A video taken before the MP's arrest showed police officers in a heated physical confrontation with the legislator who was reported to have become rowdy after he was denied a replacement ballot for the Governor's seat.
“We arrested him after he assaulted and injured a voter. He has also caused a lot of commotion and disturbance at the polling station and we are not going to allow that,” Nakuru County commander, Peter Mwanzo, said while confirming the arrest.
The IEBC cautioned Kenyans against sharing photos of marked ballot papers during the elections, an action it termed as unacceptable and a violation of the law.
Voters are warned that violating secrecy of the ballot through sharing of photos of marked ballot papers is punishable by law.#GE2022 #KenyaDecides2022 pic.twitter.com/mg3W1Oc6B0 — IEBC (@IEBCKenya) August 9, 2022
“Voters are warned that violating the secrecy of the ballot through sharing of photos of marked ballot papers is punishable by law,” stated the commission after many social media users shared photos of the marked ballot papers as evidence of the candidate of their choice.
Underwhelming turnout
IEBC announced that at around 4 pm, 12,065,803 out of 22,120,458 registered voters had cast their votes. This had equated to 56.17 per cent of voter turnout excluding voting through the manual register.
This was against a total of 22,120,458, with an estimation by the commission of around 60 per cent, which would form the lowest in Kenya's voting history.
In 2017 the final turnout was 78 per cent for the General Election while in 2013, the turnout was 86 per cent. The 2007 poll had 68 per cent of the registered voters casting their ballots.
"There are many reasons that may cause low voter turnout. But as of now, if we are at 56.17% we are doing well because voting is still going on. In some areas, the voter turnout is quite high."
"It's true that turnout has been low in many parts of the country however we are urging many to come out and vote so that they can exercise their constitutional l right," Commissioner Francis Wanderi indicated.
In the Mt Kenya region, leaders had attributed the low voter turnout to the bad weather conditions and had depended on the afternoon sessions to show up and cast their ballots.
This writer had observed that there was a low voter turnout at the polling station where he had gone to cast his vote. However, upon inquiring from other voters who had shown up in the morning, there were a number of Kenyans who had turned up to vote.
Our boss @marvin_chege10 has casted his vote.
Have you?#KenyaDecides2022 pic.twitter.com/H62SSQOkTx — Viral Tea Kenya (@ViralTeaKe) August 9, 2022
The low voter turnout was also noted in prisons, but this was attributed to the constant transfer of prisoners, especially at the King'orani Prisons in Mombasa.
"Prisoners will only be allowed to vote for the presidential seat. We are making proposals for regulation of their participation," IEBC chairman, Wafula Chebukati stated in 2017.
Other highlights
Kitui county governor Charity Ngilu complained that her name was included in the ballot papers despite withdrawing from defending her seat in the gubernatorial race.
Reports of Raila Odinga leading in the diaspora vote in Australia were deemed as fake, just like initial reports that indicated that William Ruto won the presidential race amongst Kenyans in Australia, according to fact checks Viral Tea conducted.
The IEBC had listed 12 countries; Burundi, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda, South Africa, the United Kingdom (UK), Canada, USA, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Germany as those that would participate in the election, given that they already have 10,443 Kenyans had registered as voters, only allowed to vote for the president. Australia was not among them.
Former Nairobi governor, Mike Sonko, was whisked away by police officers after being involved in a near-fist fight with outgoing Mombasa Governor Hassan Ali Joho.
Facts About August 9 elections
There are 16,105 candidates who were cleared by the IEBC to contest in today's election. According to IEBC, there were only 1,879 elective positions in the country.
IEBC Chairman, Wafula Chebukati addressing the media on August 5, 2022. /IEBC
