The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), has conducted the second simulation of the Result Transmission System (RTS) for the upcoming general election on 9th August.
The simulation which was held, at the Bomas of Kenya, involved the transmission of form 34 A, which was conducted in 580 polling stations, out of 46,232 polling stations across the country, compared to the 2,900 polling centers that were sampled in the first simulation on 9th June, 2022.
The RTS will enable the public to follow, download and access the election results easily.
The polling stations will use sim-cards and satellite modems for the Kenya Integrated Elections Management System (KIEMS) kits that will transmit the results to the constituencies, counties and National Tallying Centers.
IEBC Commissioner-In-Charge of ICT, Justus Nyang’aya, said the image of the results will be captured by the KIEMS devices and transmitted to the Global Public Portal and the National Tallying Center.
He stated that an image of the duly filled forms 34 A, which will be delivered physically, will be taken by the Returning Officer of a Polling Station and confirmed by the political party agents and observers.
“The political party agents and observers present, will be allowed to take photos of the forms with their phones and share with their political parties,” stated Nyang’aya.
According to IEBC, the system will encrypt the data content of the results image, to avoid interception from outside sources. It will also validate the identity of the polling station that the form is being transmitted from and elective position being contested.
RTS will award each form sent to the public portal, a digital certificate, to ensure the integrity of the information being transmitted.
“The form is serialized, it captures the identity of the station. If one were to take a form from one polling station to another, this particular KIEMS kit will not send, because it will not have identified it as the true copy of the form needed to be sent,” added Nyang’aya
IEBC noted that the current system is better and more improved than the previous one used in the 2017 General Elections, further stating that accuracy, traceability and user ability, are some of the new benefits that the improved RTS will include.
By Jedida Barasa
