The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has disclosed its current predicament in the wake of the delayed recruitment of new commissioners.
CEO Hussein Marjan on Wednesday said they are unable to adhere to court orders and arrange by-elections for various vacant seats nationwide. IEBC has not had commissioners since the start of the year, with the recruitment process hindered by the ongoing feud between President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza and Raila Odinga’s Azimio. Meanwhile, IEBC needs to oversee three parliamentary and ward by-elections due to the deaths of some members and court rulings that overturned previous results.
“We have been affected so much. The biggest challenge is the fact that there are court orders that we cannot be able to effect,” Marjan said.
An example is the Banisa Member of Parliament seat, which became vacant after its holder, Kullow Maalim Hassan, passed away following an accident in March. The commission is also expected to announce a victor for an MCA seat in Garissa following a court order for a recount. In 2021, the court ruled that verifying the referendum signatures was done without the necessary number of commissioners, at a time when there were only two commissioners and the chairman.
Marjan said the commission’s annual and procurement plans have been put on hold due to the absence of commissioners to authorize them. He further warned that the commission will be under pressure to complete the boundary delimitation before the March 2024 deadline. The task should have started already but is yet to begin.
“The commissioners are responsible for the governance of the Constitution. So, ideally, they are expected to approve our plans – annual plans, procurement plans – but that can’t happen now,” he said.
