The Krox

In the same spirit of innovation, Safaricom should launch a mobile plat form for voting.
Come to think of it, it may actually be practical. With the ongoing sim card registration, my guess is that, all mobile and telecommunication service providers will have a data base of all the registered customers. This is a plus because it means that the mobile service providers will no longer have ghost customers, but will be able to make an account of each and every customer that they have.
Back to Safaricom. Why Safaricom and not something like Zain, no I mean Bhatri Airtel? well, the answer is simple, Safaricom has for the longest time been a Kenyan service provider, rolling out products that are relevant and practical to the Kenyan Market. They also have the highest market capitalisation in the country. That's why.


So why should we really consider mobile voting? As far as we know, majority of Kenyans  now own mobile phones, plus, If the companies shall be able to link up with the electoral commission that is present in the land, voting would be faster and smoother. We have thought as a Nation that we should tap into on line voting. As much as that is a reality, not many Kenyans are technologically savvy, especially those who are old. On the contrary, most Kenyans can use a mobile phone gadget smoothly with no hustle. Another thing, it would take the government a huge budget to put the machinery into place. I mean, all the computers in the ever growing Kenyan constituencies, then the possibility of the system being hacked into.
Having a mobile voting plat form would be easier and cheaper. It would only require the customer to have a sim card that is registered as a customer and as a voter and you are good to go. An average sim card goes between 50 Kenyan shillings and 100 Kenyan shillings.


This would be a milestone in any voting process in the whole world. But as you imagined, it would also have its limitations. The system may be hacked into, and the secrecy of the vote tampered with, or worse still, rigged. The system may also crash due to handling many requests at a time. The limitation list may seem longer, but innovation is necessary to see to it that it doesn't happen.


This may look as a big joke, but trust me, when implemented,.. this should be the best thing to happen in any country. I still insist, mobile voting will take us a long way.