Kenya needs voter ID

Independent:

Systematic electoral fraud including vote-rigging in a third of all constituencies, stuffed ballot boxes and election officials changing results had a decisive impact on the outcome of the Kenyan elections, an investigation by The Independent can reveal.

In 88 of the 210 constituencies, turnout was at least 1,000 votes higher in the presidential election than in the parliamentary poll conducted at the same time. This amounted to a total of 380,944 votes, considerably more than President Mwai Kibaki's winning margin of 231,728. Even when suspect voting practices in opposition candidate Raila Odinga's strongholds are accounted for, the extra votes for Mr Kibaki total about 350,000.

Violence, sparked by the disputed election results, has raged for almost a month and yesterday the former UN secretary general Kofi Annan flew into Nairobi – the latest in a line of African statesman to get Mr Kibaki and Mr Odingato sit down together and try to find a way to resolve the crisis.

According to election observers, ballot boxes were stuffed by both sides. In one constituency, Mr Odinga won 100.5 per cent of valid votes. In Maragwa, a constituency with near-total support for Mr Kibaki, turnout was 115 per cent.

When the result was queried the returning officer was allowed to reduce the turnout to a more acceptable figure. Under Kenyan election law votes from that constituency should have been excluded.

Observers also reported that counts were changed by returning officers in local polling centres, as well as staff at the National Electoral Commission in Nairobi, largely to favour the incumbent bidding for re-election. Koki Muli, a senior Kenyan observer, said: "They added 5,000, 10,000, 15,000 – whatever they wanted. It was bizarre. We had results which were quite outrageous."

In some constituencies the total announced for Mr Kibaki at electoral headquarters in Nairobi was higher than that announced at regional tallying centres in the presence of foreign observers. An additional 25,116 votes were added in Molo and 17,677 in Kieni. In North Imenti, Mr Kibaki won 78,684 votes, but official ECK results gave him an extra 5,324. In a handful of constituencies where Mr Odinga was strong, the results were reduced by election commission officials in Nairobi. In Changamwe, Mr Odinga won 28,340 votes to Mr Kibaki's 14,813. However, the official result announced at the election headquarters put Mr Odinga on 17,706 and Mr Kibaki on 9,366, reducing Mr Odinga's lead by 5,187.

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It will probably take more than voter ID to fix the systematic fraud in Kenya. It appears that both sides were practicing it and one just did a better job of stuffing the ballot boxes. To cheat and still lose apparently made some people very angry.