(15 January 2017)

Main argument
IPG argues that calling mass voter registration “the election before the election” is dangerous. Both the IEBC’s chief executive and opposition leader Raila Odinga had said that elections are won at registration. IPG says this is a political view, not an electoral one: victory is only decided at the ballot. The framing raises the stakes of registration, invites claims of a false victory, and weakens an already fragile electoral system.

Context
The second phase of mass registration began on 16 January 2017. The IEBC aimed to add about six million voters to the existing 15.9 million, using 7,793 biometric registration kits, up from 5,776 in earlier exercises.

Key problems the report identifies

• Voter intimidation: leaders and businesses tied registration to access to services. Examples include a Nyeri MP urging women to withhold conjugal rights, a Vihiga governor refusing county services to unregistered residents, and bars in Murang’a refusing drinks without a voter’s card. IPG calls this unlawful.
• Kit shortages: kits could not be at every centre all the time, and about 8,000 were faulty. Centres served late in the period would favour last-minute registrants and leave others unregistered.
• Transfer rules: voters who wanted to move their polling station had to apply at constituency offices, not registration centres. After about 700,000 transfer requests in the previous round, IPG says this could deny over a million people easy access to a polling place.
• Voter importation: the IEBC was watching counties such as Murang’a, Kiambu, Meru, Nairobi and Bungoma for the practice of moving voters.
• No independent monitoring: there was no official observer system for the registration exercise.
• No commission in place: the IEBC nominees were still being vetted, and IPG says they faced a credibility problem before taking office.
• Violence risk: tension at the Coast, including a dispute over withdrawn security for the Mombasa and Kilifi governors, and allegations of armed groups.

Other developments covered

• The resignation deadline for public officers who want to run (7 February 2017) and the rules barring them from campaigning.
• Contested electoral law amendments, signed on 9 January, including a manual backup for electronic systems.
• The Judiciary’s preparations for election petitions.
• The Communications Authority’s plan to monitor media and social media.
• Government pressure on civil society, including audits of IFES and the Kenya Human Rights Commission.
• Party moves: the launch of the opposition alliance NASA on 11 January, Jubilee’s smart-card membership drive, and ODM and Wiper nomination plans.
• Hate-speech allegations against the National Assembly Majority Leader, and calls for the ICC to monitor.

Recommendations

1. The IEBC and politicians should stop describing registration as a contest.
2. Parties and politicians should stop pressuring people to register and not tie it to basic services.
3. The IEBC should redesign how it distributes kits.
4. Voter transfers should be allowed at every registration centre.
5. Civil society should monitor registration in a non-partisan way.
6. Security services should reduce tension at the Coast.

Conclusion
With about six months to the 8 August 2017 election, IPG says the electoral process remains fragile and all actors must support it. Kenyans should demand that it be given what it needs to deliver a credible election.

This is longer than a website blurb. If you’d like, I can cut it to a short card description of about 40 words or add it to the Reports doc.