ALN WELCOMES DECISION BY IEBC TO INVESTIGATE CLAIMS OF KENYAN ELECTION RIGGING

STATEMENT OF THE AFRICA LIBERAL NETWORK ON ALLEGED KENYAN ELECTION RIGGING

The largest political affiliation in Africa, the Africa Liberal Network, takes note of serious allegations of election rigging during the elections in Kenya on 8 August.
Raila Odinga, the leader of the Orange Democratic Movement, a full member of the ALN, and head of the National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition, announced on 9 August that they have proof that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) database and servers has been hacked. A full statement outlines the steps taken by hackers to gain entry to the electoral database, where after they allegedly created errors and introduced algorithms that tampered with the results of the elections. “While Kenyans were bearing the long queues to determine their destiny, the conspirators begun the execution of their plan. At about 12.37 pm on 8 August 2017, hackers gained entry into our election database through the identity of Chris Msando who was executed barely a week ago,” reads the NASA statement.
This comes shortly after Odinga lambasted the IEBC for not following due process by not releasing the election results through the appropriate channels. He rejected the results that have been released thus far as they weren’t accompanied by the appropriate form, Form 34A, used to register the results of the elections. This has since been rectified and the IEBC has started releasing results with Form 34A for each county.
The ALN welcomes a statement by IEBC Chairman, Wafula Chebukati, that the Commission is taking these allegations seriously.  Chebukati vowed that the IEBC will review all relevant documents, confirm their authenticity and carry out a complete audit to authenticate the election results. The network calls on the Kenyan government to allow an independent inquiry to be completed without interference in order to let democracy prosper. The ALN further urges all Kenyans to remain calm and let due process take its course in allowing the official results to be released and the IEBC to conduct a full audit. It is of the utmost importance that peace reigns in these worrying times.
The ALN supports its sister party in the run up to the release of the official results, especially in light of these allegations, and will continue to fight for liberal values, not only in Kenya, but also over the whole of Africa.
 
Media enquiries:
Zanie Ferreira (ALN Coordinator)
zanie.maree@africaliberalnetwork.org