[kictanet] Manual Backup and Elections 2017: Is the CS ICT Honest

Fri Dec 30 13:41:40 EAT 2016

I think this is an opportunity for the ICT fraternity to take up the challenge and demystify electronic systems in elections.  I believe this forum has the most neutral platform where the media, academia, operators, regulators, government, legal and other interested parties can brainstorm on this.
I propose that early in the year,  a face-2-face roundtable TV /Radio broadcast (NTV, Citizen, KTN?) deliberation to break this down -perhaps at Strath University (CPIT are you there?). 
A lot has been written on the issue of electronic systems in elections but seems nobody READS, least of all politicians from both sides of the divide.  I can imagine a cast of the following:
IEBC: CEO or Rep?Regulator: CEO or Rep?Operator: Safcom/Airtel/Telkom?ICT Min: Minister or rep?Academia: MMU/Strath/UoN/?Political Party: Jubilee+CORD Rep?Moderator &Broadcaster: Media (Citizen, NTV,KTN)Convenor: KICTAnet -GG are you back from holiday?
Sponsors: Anyone?
If we do not hijack this ICT conversation, the politicians will run with it in the wrong direction and we might find ourselves exactly where we were in 2007.
walu.

      From: JImmy Gitonga via kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke>
 To: jwalu at yahoo.com 
Cc: JImmy Gitonga <jimmygitts at gmail.com>
 Sent: Friday, December 30, 2016 1:14 PM
 Subject: Re: [kictanet] Manual Backup and Elections 2017: Is the CS ICT Honest

Thank you Odhiambo Washington,
I have the same concerns myself. I reached the conclusion that it would be nice if "ICT Experts" could lay their hands on a BVI machine as well as a and show the rest of us what the problem really is. The ERT issue is a red herring. It has worked flawlessly in the bi-elections that have happened ever since. With PKI and 2 factor authentication, this can be solved for election day.
I am sure Victor Kyalo and Joseph Mucheru could make this possible. Call it a "Kenyans as ICT stakeholders" meeting. All Listers with time will begin to be asked by their family or neighbours, what the issue really is. I, for one, do not want to echo the CS's words.
I think the CS and the PS should help us help them. Otherwise they will be on their own when the political vultures come calling.
Regards,Jimmy Gitonga

Message: 4
Date: Fri, 30 Dec 2016 11:30:08 +0300
From: Odhiambo Washington <odhiambo at gmail.com>
To: Kictanet <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke >
Subject: [kictanet] Manual Backup and Elections 2017: Is the CS ICT
        Honest
Message-ID:
        <CAAdA2WPFoRvjF5Bodk+sHb-P4_ rUp2AXpA9Q3zAk-UR57cqwGw at mail. gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="utf-8"

Dear Listers,

I am at that position where I feel very lost. In fact, I feel like I am
quite detached from the reality.

All along, I have keenly considered this matter that seems to have divided
the country down the middle: *Manual Backup* during the 2017 voting
process. From the Jubilee/govt side this is a do or die and so it must be
there. This govt side seems hell-bent on confusing the masses, as well as
the experts like the ICT Community. From the Opposition side, the agenda
seems to be very clear - that of ensuring integrity of the Voters Register
and stopping 'ghost voters' from ever casting their votes.

That brings us to the famous acronyms - BVI (Biometric Voter Register) /
BVI (Biometric Voter Identification).
Having been to a Voter Registration Centre (later to become a Polling
Station) to register as a voter, I did look at the equipment in use for the
registration process. I saw the laptop which was fitted with a camera and
fingerprints scanner. All these require power to run. I did not dwell on
how they were powered, but probably there was a battery backup somewhere
(besides the electricity) given that they needed to run for a whole day for
several days during the voter registration process. When it comes to the
Elections, they only need to run for about 11 hours. My point here is that
of *Backup Power* should it be that there's electricity blackout and the
built-in batteries can't last the whole day. That backup is very important.

However, I did not see any piece of equipment which could suggest that the
equipment in use required any form of connectivity back to some central
server in order to function! Which now brings me to the currently national
debate - Manual Backup during the Poll Day. What is it? Was the CS honest
with his presentation before the Senate/Amos Wako committee yesterday? Does
the CS himself really believe in the content of his presentation? I am
asking that because I watched him and I don't believe him. I actually think
he mislead the committee, and hence the nation at large.

Someone please prove me wrong. I am at that point where I believe that the
BVR/BVI does NOT require any form of connectivity and so this Manual Backup
being touted by the ruling coalition side, strongly supported by  the ICT
CS is a big lie. WHY?

My very first answer: Simply put, *when there was no requirement for a
manual backup during voter registration, it goes without saying that there
is NO NEED for on the polling day.*

1. For the issue that is in contention - BVR (used for BVI during polling)
- this is a database that can be (and should be) statically stored on the
equipment for each polling station. We are not supposed to rely on the
Mobile Network to access this voters database. And every polling station
can have two/three laptops/Biometrics scanner/Backup batteries to ensure
that the voter identification doesn't fail.
Some excuse has been fronted about some voters being mechanics, such that
their fingerprints wouldn't be recognized by the BVI systems hence need for
manual identification. My take on that is that every voter must carry their
voter's card on that day. The clerks can check that card number against the
electronic system - enter it, and it will bring the person's picture, ID
number, etc and let him cast his ballot.

2. For electronics results transmission (ERT), this is not even necessary
in the first place. We can have the results collated/announced at the
tallying centres after being certified - forms 36A, and such. However, if
the ERT must be done, the data footprint is so tiny that a 2G network can
be used. Besides, it can be an SMS based system, which doesn't require 3G
or VSAT. The results data isn't that large - it can't be in Megabytes to be
sincere. Well, VSAT can be used if they MUST, but this is after the voting
process itself is complete, has nothing to do with BVI.

The ERT and the BVR/BVI are two distinct systems. That is what I want to
believe. The ERT gets feedback from a manual process - of voters casting
their vote, clerks/agents counting, verifying, and certifying, filling
requisite forms then communicating the same via some customized phones
which are programmed to communicate to a backend system. Am I right on
that??

Now the big question here is, where do we need this much touted manual
backup where network connectivity is being used as the major reason???

(a) Citing terrorism and the possibility of Al Shabaab knocking off base
stations seems like well thought out lie meant to cover our eyes! If they
attacked an area, I doubt there will be voting in the 1st place.
     And even so, the network connectivity is not required for BVI so there
is no disenfranchising anyone if there is no manual backup (whatever that
is).

(b) Citing hacking is neither here nor there for a BVR/BVI system because
it's not being accessed live during the voting. It's a static database,
unique to the polling station, resident on the laptop used by the clerks.
The only hacking that can be done then can only be by an "insider". Quoting
Victor Kapiyo from Social Media, "*I guess it's a question of trust. Trust
in systems and in trustworthy people to do the right thing. For M-Pesa, or
KCSE results, we trust both. For IEBC, I guess the jury is still out*."

The main issue is not allowing the dead voters to rise again to vote in the
presidential vote, then disappear. So the important component here is the
BVR/BVI, the credibility of the register and hence the vote.

At what point does the BVI system require this connectivity they are
talking about, which then necessitates the so called "manual backup"?

Did the CS ICT lie to the Senate?? Did the CAK lie to the Senate in
supporting the lie from the CS??

There is insincerity in this whole debate about 'manual backup' and the ICT
community seems to either support it or is simply lost in the pool of
confusion being peddled by politicians.

--
Best regards,
Odhiambo WASHINGTON,
Nairobi,KE
+254 7 3200 0004/+254 7 2274 3223
"Oh, the cruft."
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