We’re running out options to resolve IEBC stalemate

Prof Githu Muigai must be one popular Attorney General with all politicians this week! The good professor dared to utter and support the dreaded “E” word that most politicians dream of but cannot dare voice for fear of public recriminations from a citizenry wary of term extensions. While I do not agree with my former teacher, I completely understand where he is coming from. As the excitement on removing the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioners has gained momentum, many have not applied their minds to some terrifying implications of all these matters on elections 2017.

For the 2013 elections, the IEBC was established about 15 months before the elections. Recognising that this was very close to the elections, the Chair Isaak Hassan and commissioners Yusuf Nzibo and Engineer Abdullahi Sharawe being members of the two predecessor interim commissions on elections and boundaries review were retained in the IEBC to facilitate seamless transition and institutional memory. Yet it is on record the commission still struggled with preparedness. We are now 12 months before the next election.