The Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) is preparing to tackle network gaps in parts of the country ahead of the 2027 General Election to ensure the transmission of election results is not disrupted.
CA Director General David Mugonyi said the authority would focus on areas with limited coverage while maintaining reliable telecommunications services at polling stations on August 10, 2027.
Mugonyi spoke during a national election security consultative forum organised by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), where he outlined the CA’s role in supporting the electoral process through telecommunications services.
“Our role is to ensure the electoral commission has enough connectivity in polling stations,” said Mugonyi.
He said the country already has strong 3G, 4G and 5G coverage in most areas, meaning the CA would mainly concentrate on locations that continue to experience connectivity challenges.
“We will just be looking at a few marginalised places where we can improve connectivity,” said Mugonyi.
Network access will be key during the election as the IEBC will depend on telecommunications services to move results from polling stations to various tallying centres.
After votes have been counted and recorded manually at each polling station, the Presiding Officer uses the Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS) kit to capture a high-resolution and secure image of the completed Form 34A.
The information is then sent to the constituency tallying centre, county tallying centre and national tallying centre before being made available on the public portal.
The CA will therefore play a key role in ensuring the communication networks supporting the process remain available during the election.
Mugonyi said the authority would also assist the media with result transmission as well as other election activities that depend on telecommunications services.
He said the CA would continue carrying out its mandate to provide the required support to the electoral process as preparations for the 2027 General Election gather pace.