- The CEO clarified that the EVIDs reached ‘end of life’ long ago and their net book value was zero.
- He added that the equipment was not supported by either the manufacturer and the vendor we procured from.
The electoral agency has allayed fears that the poll items that it reported stolen from its various warehouses in 2021 had been planned for use in the 2022 polls.
In a statement, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission CEO Hussein Marjan said some of the items were obsolete and were not supposed to be used in last year’s polls.
The CEO clarified that the data captured in the stolen gadgets were encrypted and thus could be cracked or used.
The statement comes after the CEO revealed to a Parliamentary committee that various poll items including 952 electronic voter identification devices and 125 BVR kits went missing from its stores.
“The 952 were not electronic voter identification documents but rather electronic voter identification devices (EVIDs) that were procured in 2012 from the then Safran Morpho for use in 2013 general election,” Marjan said.
Marjan held that devices did not perform as expected then due to various challenges including lack of training and the fact that they were bought and delivered very close to the 2013 general election.
“We would like to clarify that these identification devices were not used in the 2022 general election but instead the commission used KIEMS kits,” he said.
The CEO clarified that the EVIDs reached ‘end of life’ long time ago and their net book value was zero.
He added that the equipment were not supported by both the manufacturer and the vendor procured from.
“Due to the fact that they cannot be used and that they are attracting a lot of cost in form or storage and security they have been lined up for disposal.”
“This couldn’t have been done during the period leading to the 2022 general election as it would have generated unnecessary political debate,” he said.
On the 125 BVR kits, the commission said the items were procured in 2011 and were first used to register voters for ahead of 2013 general election.
This was in line with Krieglar recommendation.
The commission had contemplated to use Kiems kits for enrolment during continuous voter registration.
However, due to budget availability the software was procured way later, and the commission had to use the old BVR kits to register voters albeit, with numerous challenges.
“The commission also clarified, when it appeared before PAC, that the information residing in those kits are encrypted and secured,” he said.
He added that in the event that items landed in wrong hands, they would not be able to decrypt and use the information.