[kictanet] Call for input into Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2017 and Election Offences (Amendment) Bill 2017

Wed Oct 4 10:17:44 EAT 2017

My sense is that the ammendments are rushed if not too reactionary. Also
too close to an election (Just days!). As Grace Bomu observes, there is
much we could contribute but with the nature of the process, you wonder
whether its worth putting our valuable time in it.

On Wed, Oct 4, 2017 at 10:10 AM, Barrack Otieno via kictanet <
kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:

> Dear Grace,
>
> I  object to the amendments . I have gone through the bill and found
> some of the amendments to be ill advised. I think we should always
> uphold the spirit of the law other than the letter of the law. For
> instance when we say that in the event manual transmission defers from
> electronic transmission the manual transmission will carry the day yet
> we know basic principles of computing such as Garbage in Garbage out
> (GIGO) or What You See is What you get (WYSWYG) it shows that the
> processes and use of electronic system as supplementary aids is
> misunderstood why should we entertain a situation where the input
> differs from the output. Electronic aids only make the system more
> efficient and effective they don't alter results unless there is
> interference.
>
> On another note, we have new members of parliament who are just being
> inducted, it would therefore be untrue to claim that they have
> understood the election management system and processes which have
> taken time  to develop and now want to dismantle it to suit temporary
> political interests , i think we should uphold the interests of the
> country first and i would urge our elected leaders to be at the fore
> front of this effort. The election laws might not be perfect but it
> would be prudent to have a consensus based approach of scrutinizing
> any weak areas and addressing the same based on merit.
>
> Finally and in my humble opinion, in as much as we have deployed
> technology and used technology to make many advances in different
> spheres of our nation, we are yet to fully embrace and intergrate
> Information Technology Governance principles and practices in our
> institutions be they public or private. I think this is our archilles
> heel and this are the issues that might need to be addressed. We
> deploy good systems but lack the manners to use the same correctly let
> alone protect the data under our custody. A data protection act will
> help resolve some of this challenges we are trying to resolve
> politically, the election laws amendment bill is just a red herring,
> technology is here to stay and will continue affecting every aspect of
> our lives if we don't address IT, IT will address us politically and
> socially sooner than later.
>
> Regards
>
> Best Regards
>
> On 10/3/17, Grace Mutung'u (Bomu) via kictanet
> <kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
> > Hi all,
> > There is a lot to say about the substance of the proposed law but I think
> > the process is ill advised. There should be no amendments to the law
> given
> > the very limited time period  before the rerun.
> > And although we have been invited because we care about technology, I
> would
> > like to believe that we also care about the nation. We shall achieve very
> > little in terms of building trust in our processes and institutions in
> such
> > a rushed process. Shelve this law.
> >
> >
> > On 2 Oct 2017 16:57, "Grace Githaiga via kictanet" <
> > kictanet at lists.kictanet.or.ke> wrote:
> >
> >> Listers
> >>
> >> Greetings!
> >>
> >>
> >> KICTANet has been invited on Thursday October 5, 2017, to a meeting of
> >> the
> >> select committees on Election laws 2017. Considering that there will be
> >> many other groups participating, we would like to present a memorandum
> >> containing our specific concerns as they pertain to tech issues.
> >>
> >> Further, we realize that the time is too short to hold a moderated
> debate
> >> and therefore would like to hear from you on specific tech issues. We
> >> have
> >> to do this by *Wednesday October 4, 2017 at** 2 p.m. *Thereafter, I and
> >> Kanini Mutemi will collate the views in readiness for Thursday. In
> >> addition, it would be good for those who participated in the KICTANet
> >> observation mission on August 8, 2017 to also attend this Thursday
> >> meeting.
> >>
> >> We attach the two bills, and would like to draw your attention to:
> >>
> >> 1. Election Laws (Amendment) Bill
> >>
> >>    - Clause 6 (Electronic AND manual transmission of presidential
> >>    election results, with manual taking precedence).
> >>    - Clause 7 (Substantially amends Section 44 of the Elections Act
> which
> >>    prescribes the use of technology in the conduct of elections).
> >>    - Clause 8 (Amends Section 44A on use of a complementary mechanism
> for
> >>    identification of voters).
> >>    - Clause 9 (Amends Section 83 on the effect of non-compliance).
> >>    - Clause 11 (Criminal liability for failing to sign documents).
> >>
> >> 2. Election Offences (Amendment) Bill-
> >>
> >>    - Clause 2 (Amends Election Offences Act to allow the government to
> >>    publish advertisements on its achievements during the election
> >> period).
> >>
> >>
> >> Kindlyprovide your input by providing which clause you think is
> >> problematic, what your concerns are, and the recommendations.
> >>
> >> Asanteni sana.
> >>
> >> Rgds
> >> Grace
> >>
> >>
> >> ------------------------------------------------------------
> >> ----------------------
> >>
> >> *Grace Githaiga*
> >>
> >> Twitter: @ggithaiga
> >>
> >> Skype: gracegithaiga
> >>
> >> Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gracegithaiga
> >>
> >>
> >> .*..**the most important office in a democracy is the citizen. So, you
> >> see, that’s what our democracy demands. It needs you!----Barrack Obama.*
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >>
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> >>
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> >>
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> >>
> >>
> >
>
>
> --
> Barrack O. Otieno
> +254721325277
> +254733206359
> Skype: barrack.otieno
> PGP ID: 0x2611D86A
>
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> The Kenya ICT Action Network (KICTANet) is a multi-stakeholder platform
> for people and institutions interested and involved in ICT policy and
> regulation. The network aims to act as a catalyst for reform in the ICT
> sector in support of the national aim of ICT enabled growth and development.
>
> KICTANetiquette : Adhere to the same standards of acceptable behaviors
> online that you follow in real life: respect people's times and bandwidth,
> share knowledge, don't flame or abuse or personalize, respect privacy, do
> not spam, do not market your wares or qualifications.
>

-- 

John Kieti
Phone: +254-735-764242 // +254-722-764242
Twitter: @johnKieti // Skype:  jkieti
Blog: gmeltdown.com <http://www.gmeltdown.com> // LinkedIn:
https://ke.linkedin.com/in/*kieti* <https://ke.linkedin.com/in/kieti>

The ordinary just won't do
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