Provide road map for the next boundaries review

Creation of new constituencies has dominated public debate for months. However, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has now ruled out the possibility of having new constituencies before next year’s elections. This is not surprising.

All along, there were indications that it was not going to be possible to have new constituencies any time soon. First, IEBC has been severely constrained to undertake such a major assignment as reviewing boundaries. The agency has been operating with only three commissioners in the past three years after four others quit following the mess of the 2017 elections. This left it shattered and unable to execute major tasks.

Second, the electoral review process was muddled when promoters of the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) took it upon themselves to decide on demarcation of boundaries by not only determining the numbers but also identifying their location. That, however, is the mandate of IEBC.

Creation of boundaries

Indeed, the BBI plan was thrown out by the High Court in a petition that challenged its constitutionality. The verdict has since been challenged and escalated to the Court of Appeal for review. However, even if the appellate court was to overturn the ruling, there is no time to undertake constituency review.

Creation of boundaries is a very crucial and sensitive matter. It is a political and economic matter as it determines representation and resource allocation. Undertaking it requires time and proper planning. Which is why IEBC is ruling out carrying it out at this point in time. It is recalled that even the proposals by the BBI had elicited strident opposition largely because the distribution of the new constituencies was skewed in favour of some regions.

Even so, IEBC needs to provide a road map on the next constituency review. Since the last review was conducted in 2012, the next round should be done between now and 2024.