This archive report was first published on 22 July 2019.
On July 22, 2019, the Elections Observation Group (ELOG) raised concerns about the authenticity of signatures on the Punguza Mizigo referendum petition submitted to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) by the Ekuru Aukot-led Third Way Alliance party.
The petition, which seeks to reduce the number of MPs and abolish deputy governors' positions, had reportedly been verified by the IEBC, with 1,222,541 registered voters supporting the proposal.
However, ELOG's national coordinator, Mulle Musau, stated that the organisation was only allowed to access a few forms and was denied the opportunity to scrutinise all the forms and verify them.
As a result, ELOG is now calling on the IEBC to publish the list of names in the Kenya Gazette or in any other public medium, in compliance with open data principles, so that those whose details are captured in the forms can confirm that they consented to the petition.
According to ELOG, the defective signature could surpass the 200,000 quoted by the IEBC.
