New IEBC chairman’s work cut out for him

 

On Tuesday this week, Wafula Chebukati got Parliament's nod to head the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), effectively allowing him to take over from Issack Hassan, whose stay at the helm of the electoral body has been anything but calm.

IEBC has been in the news, most of the time for all the wrong reasons.

It would not be far-fetched to say that IEBC, at the moment, inspires very little confidence in the public.

The manner in which it conducted the 2013 General Election and its conduct during the election petition filed by CORD in 2013 against President Uhuru Kenyatta’s election set it on a collision course with the Opposition.

This culminated in last year's demonstrations outside Anniversary Towers, the setting-up of a Joint Select Parliamentary Committee to amend electoral laws and later the premature ejection of the Issack Hassan-led team from IEBC.

With his work clearly cut out for him, the task ahead for Chebukati is not an easy one given that he has barely seven months in which to restore the credibility of IEBC as well as organise and conduct elections that are free and fair.

This task starts with the setting-up of a voter’s register that reflects the reality on the ground. It involves the purchase of stores and gear that will make the August elections successful.

Above all, he must display unequivocal impartiality. There has been a perception, especially within the Opposition ranks, that IEBC works at the behest of the Executive.

During vetting by Parliament, Chebukati said he was not looking for a job; that he had a genuine commitment to change the way things work at IEBC.

That is a noble goal and he must give it his all. The August 2017 elections are crucial to the country’s continued stability and we cannot afford to have them flunked for whatever reason.