French firm finally opens up on why Kenya's elections may not be held in October

French firm OT-Morpho, the company responsible for providing the voting system for the fresh elections of Kenya's presidential race has said that the equipment will not be ready in time, casting doubt on whether elections will be held or not.

OT-Morpho says it needs to reinstall the complex voting system for the scheduled elections on 17th October and adds that "significant amount of work" cannot be finished in time.

French firm rules out transmission of full vote results

Kenyan Supreme Court annulled the August 8th presidential election which was won by incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta citing irregularities in the transmission of results.

Details of the potential delay in October's polls come out in the open through a letter from OT-Morpho to Kenya’s electoral commission, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) which was obtained by Reuters news agency.

Also read: KENYA BECOMES THE 1ST COUNTRY IN AFRICA TO NULLIFY PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS

An election official at IEBC also confirmed the potential delay to the BBC.

The letter, dated 18 September, said two different electronic systems used in the vote would have to be reinstalled for a another election.

More than 45,000 computer tablets were provided to Kenyan officials to identify voters using fingerprints and photos before allowing them to vote.

Also read: FRENCH SUPPLIER OF KENYAN VOTE SYSTEM SPEAKS ON HACKING ALLEGATIONS

Opposition flag bearer, Raila Odinga has also thrown spanner into works and insisted National Super Alliance (NASA) coalition will not participate in the upcoming polls unless members of IEBC responsible for elections malpractices are dismissed and charges opened against them.

In addition, they also want OT-Morpho and Dubai based printing press Al Ghurair replaced for having links with the Jubilee administration.

Over the weekend, he alleged that the French firm bribed Kenya electoral officials with Sh200 million to win the Kenya Integrated Elections Management Systems (KIEMS) tender.

“We also have information linking Safran Morpho and senior officials of Jubilee, their local partners. We even know how commissions have paid through a legal company in town (Nairobi) to some officials in IEBC and also to Jubilee officials” he said.

Should Kenya not be able to hold elections on 17th October it would precipitate a constitutional crisis which may necessitate a political settlement until another election is held.