PETITION

To the Chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC)

THE PETITION of Kura Yangu, Sauti Yangu (KYSY)* BRINGS TO THE ATTENTION OF THE
CHAIRMAN OF THE INDEPENDENT ELECTORAL AND BOUNDARIES COMMISSION (IEBC) the
publics displeasure and lack of confidence in the Secretariat of the IEBC to undertake the fresh 2017 Presidential
Election, following the majority decision of the Supreme Court in Raila Amolo Odinga & another v Independent
Electoral and Boundaries Commission & 2 others [2017] eKLR. In this decision, the Supreme Court held that the
Presidential Election held on 8th August 2017 was invalid, null and void since it did not adhere to the Constitution
and applicable law. While the Supreme Court ordered the IEBC to conduct a fresh Presidential Election within 60
days of the decision, it is a fact that it also held the IEBC to have committed illegalities in the transmission of
results in the invalidated election.
This means that there are officers in the IEBC who are criminally responsible for these illegalities and cannot be
entrusted with the responsibility of conducting a fresh election.

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The decision also points to the need for a significant overhaul in the operations of the IEBC to ensure compliance
with the orders of the Supreme Court and therefore deliver a free, fair, transparent and credible election. We
acknowledge that the IEBC Chairman has made an attempt at personnel changes to implement the Court order and
has also set a date for the fresh election on 17 th October 2017. We wish to point out, however, that these unilateral
actions were not based on extensive consultations with stakeholders and this has resulted in a lack of public support
for those actions.

THE UNDERSIGNED PETITIONERS THEREFORE DEMAND THAT THE IEBC CHAIRMAN:

1. Withdraws his directive setting the date for the fresh election on 17th October 2017 and instead engages in
broad consultations with stakeholders to identify an appropriate date for the elections.
2. Suspends and refers for criminal investigations all officers within the IEBC Secretariat who were responsible
for the functioning of the Kenya Integrated Electoral Management System (KIEMS) kits and the
transmission of results. These officers should not play any role in conducting the fresh Presidential Elections.
3. Broadly consults stakeholders in the development of the operational plan for the fresh Presidential Elections
and deployment of personnel responsible for conducting the election. The final operational plan should be
publicized with clear indications of how it has implemented the Supreme Court decision. The final
operational plan should also include a clear resolution of pending questions related to the Register of Voters,
the complementary mechanism to be used in case the electronic results transmission system fails, the role of
the public results portal, and security features to be included on Forms 34A, B and C.
4. Submits the KIEMS and all other aspects of the IEBCs information, communication technology
infrastructure to an independent and comprehensive audit before the fresh Presidential Elections are held.
5. Undertakes a fresh, transparent and accountable tendering process for the ballot papers and result forms to be
used in the fresh Presidential Election.
* KYSY is a citizen movement spearheaded by a number of like-minded civil society organizations [Kenya
Human Rights Commission (KHRC), Independent Medico-Legal Unit (IMLU), Constitution and Reforms
Education Consortium (CRECO), the Africa Centre for Open Governance (AfriCOG), InformAction (IFA), the

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Civil Society Reference Group (CSRG), Inuka Kenya Ni sisi, Katiba Institute, Development through Media
(DTM), the Kenyan Section for the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ-Kenya), Awaaz Magazine,
Mazingira Institute, Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI), National Women Steering Committee, Kenyans
for Peace with Truth and Justice (KPTJ)] who have come together to proactively support Kenyas preparations
for the 2017 elections with a view to ensuring that the country minimizes the risks related to dysfunctional
electoral systems and practices.