Kenya mulls to tap blockchain technology for elections

Kenya’s electoral agency is seeking to tap into blockchain potential to offer real-time results, according to Bloomberg.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairman Wafula Chebukati told the media house that the agency was considering using distributed-ledger technology (DLT) to improve transparency and enable secure access to results. The move comes as part of the agency’s efforts to enhance the integrity of voting.

Whether the application of blockchain technology by the agency would be successful remains uncertain at the moment.

Reports suggest that due to numerous allegations of rigging the voting process, the public has little faith in the electoral body itself. The country had also introduced biometric voter registration, but the system has continuously failed both during voting and tallying exercises, according to Quartz.

Earlier this year, the government of Kenya established a task force to study the benefits and challenges of blockchain technology in order to harness its potential in land registries and tackling corruption.