IEBC to single-source election management system from 2013 company

dennis kibet

March 24, 2017 7:05 PM

The announcement comes only a few days after the commission cancelled a Sh3.2 billion tender awarded to a French affiliated digital security company Gemalto based in South Africa.

An Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission official registers voters in Eldoret town.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission on Friday announced that it will single-source the procurement of the Kenya Integrated Elections Management System (KIEMS).

The KIEMS procurement will be done directly from Safran Identity and Security.

Safran was the company that provided the Biometric Voter Registration kits that were used in the March 4, 2013 elections.

IEBC’s letter dated March 21 addressed to the South Africa’s Gemalto Company, cited lack of adequate finances to carry on the tender, adding that there will be no value for money for the tender as the time lines were not well advised.

Challenged cancellation

Gemalto Company has challenged the IEBC’s tender cancellation saying that it has the capacity to deliver results, devoid of any challenges as it has previously undertaken such projects.

In a return letter to the IEBC by the Africa’s Vice President Charles Mevaa, Gemalto has argued that the cancellation was ill informed.

“We do have a track record of successful deliveries of large scale projects, including elections related solutions, within challenging lead times,” Mr Mevaa said in a latter.

Addressing the media shortly after the cancellation, ODM leader Raila Odinga argued that the cancellation of the tender was a ploy by the the IEBC to make use of ‘dead voters’ to swindle numbers in the August polls.

Safran systems will now be charged with the integration of all the process of the poll, including biometric voter registration and identification, electronic results transmission and party/candidate registration systems.

dennis kibet