FORMS 34A REVEALS ERRORS IN PRESIDENTIAL RESULTS.

There could have been substantial numerical errors on several results transmission forms that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) used to determine votes candidates got in the August 9, 2022 Presidential election, a Nation analysis of sample polling stations results has established.

A sample of Forms 34A—the document that captures presidential elections at the polling station—in different parts of the country indicate that there are votes that cannot be accounted for, and which could mean that the polls body’s final tally may be erroneous.

Under Kenyan law, Form 34A is the primary document used to tally Presidential election votes and its contents are final. The subsequent forms 34B, C and D are simply a tally of the forms filled at the polling station.

IEBC started uploading forms 34A on its online portal hours after the election closed on August 9.

Inflation of votes
The Nation sampled 233 Forms 34A from across the country, and in the results forms downloaded from IEBC’s website, presidential candidates may have benefitted from inflation of votes, either through overstated registered voters, overstated valid votes cast, and addition errors.

Presiding officers who filled the forms listed the total number of votes that were cast in those polling station. But an addition of votes that each candidate scored in the sampled polling stations shows that the total is slightly higher than what is listed as the votes cast.

Whether the anomalies were from human error or a calculated move by IEBC staff, they have poked holes into the accuracy of the final figures announced by the polls body’s chairperson Wafula Chebukati and which saw him declare William Ruto the President-Elect.

Dr Ruto ran on a United Democratic Alliance (UDA) ticket, with Mathira MP Rigathi Gachagua as his running mate. Mr Chebukati said the duo scored 7,176,141 votes or 50.49 per cent of the total valid votes cast.

Eight petitions have been filed seeking to invalidate the August 9, 2022 Presidential election, including one by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga and his running mate Martha Karua.

None of the petitions delve into the anomaly with totals in the forms 34A. They have, however, questioned cases in 41 polling stations in Bomet and Kiambu, where Mr Odinga and Ms Karua allege to have lost a total of 2,793 votes they said were illegally added to Dr Ruto.

Mr Odinga and Ms Karua came second with 6,942,930 votes, or 48.85 per cent.

Lopur Primary form
Lopur Primary School in Turkana County, for instance, was a polling centre with two stations. In the first polling station, the presiding officer listed 319 valid votes cast, with no spoilt or rejected vote.

But adding the votes each candidate gives a total of 316 votes, meaning there are three votes that cannot be accounted for.

(See the form here Lopur Form 34A)

Deputy President William Ruto, who was declared winner of the presidential election last week, got 186 votes in Lopur Primary School polling station one. Former prime minister Raila Odinga scored 128 votes.

Mr Waihiga Mwaure and Prof George Wajackoyah got one vote each.

By Nation.