IEBC cutting it too close
The electoral agency is on the spot after the civil society and major political formations issued a raft of ‘irreducible minimums’ that must be met before the country goes to the General Election on August 9.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has been asked to brief the presidential contestants on how the issues cited by the Supreme Court when it declared the 2017 presidential election null and void have been addressed.
The commission need to not only assure Kenyans and the world that it has addressed the issues raised by the contestants and the civil society but also prove that it has, indeed, put in place reliable mechanisms to ensure there will be no last-minute hitches to voting, counting and tallying of votes as well as transmission of results. Indeed, it should assure stakeholders that it has the requisite mechanisms, including technology, to deliver on its mandate.
These demands must be taken seriously, given that the electoral agency has been at the centre of the problems that have dogged elections since the chaotic 2007 General Election. The results of the 2013 General Election were also challenged in the apex court and the 2017 presidential poll results nullified.
Besides the presidential election, there have been numerous petitions challenging the results for the other seats, all of which point to the sore need for the IEBC to put its house in order and deliver an election that is free, fair, credible and verifiable.
It is not enough for the leadership of the IEBC to say all is well. For while this may be the case, there is a need to pull back the shroud of secrecy around election plans so as to avert unnecessary speculation and negative perceptions. For instance, while the agency started procuring technology for the next elections early last year, there is no evidence that it has installed and tested it, 10 days to the statutory deadline for doing so. The IEBC is cutting it too close for comfort.
