To end curse of IEBC, change how poll chiefs are selected

They say a house divided against itself cannot stand. That is the story of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). The resignation of three commissioners, Vice Chairperson Connie Nkatha, Paul Kurgat, Margaret Wanjala on Monday technically signaled the end of a commission that has failed to inspire confidence and a signal for another search of .

After the resignation of Commissioner Roselyne Akombe in October last year, it was clear that it was business unusual at IEBC.

Ms Akombe gave some insights into the workings of the electoral commission that brought to light its dysfunctionality. She alluded to internal machinations; power plays that to a large extent, undermined the credibility of the commission. Indeed, shortly before the repeat October 2017 presidential elections, a seemingly besieged IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati, publicly expressed doubt on the ability of the electoral commission to conduct free and fair elections.

That was hardly reassuring at a time the country was experiencing unrest as a consequence of a disputed presidential election in August. It is not lost on many that voting on matters inside IEBC consistently had the three commissioners who recently resigned and embattled Chief Executive officer Ezra Chiloba in the same camp, while the remaining endorsed Mr Chebukati’s decisions.

Perhaps it was these divisions within the commission that made it risk being branded partisan to some vested interests and gave the opposition reason to call for its disbandment. That call was vehemently opposed by the Jubilee Party, which went ahead to amend electoral laws that mercifully, were upended by the High Court recently.

A gargantuan task lies ahead for the country; that of recreating the IEBC to become a trusted arbiter of electoral contests.

Lessons from the botched 2007 General Election show that an imperfect election becomes the match stick that can light up the country.

The warning by South African Judge Johann Kriegler who chaired the Independent Review Commission that investigated the 2007 presidential election that unless our electoral system is reformed, the 2007/08 post-election violence might look like a picnic, still rings ominously loud.

Mr Krieglar made some recommendations, including the disbandment of the disgraced ECK and formation of an Interim Independent Electoral Commission which later become the IEBC after the promulgation of the Constitution in 2010.

While the current Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission- with knowledge of the shortcomings of its predecessors- should have given a fair account of itself, it has failed too.

However, that is the price we pay for letting scheming politicians and political parties with vested interests determine who leads the Commission. This, notwithstanding that the commission has the power to make or break Kenya in the manner in which it conducts itself during campaigns, on the actual voting day and the declaration of results.

IEBC has failed Kenyans, and the opportunity to make amends has presented itself. With only two commissioners to lead, IEBC Mr Chebukati should read the signs and know that time's up. Not only does he lack the quorum to conduct any business for the Commission, the mass resignation of his key staff is a vote of no confidence in him.

As a chairman, he failed to hold it together, raising questions about his suitability and competence to lead the commission. He cannot even conduct a by-election without attracting legal suits challenging the constitution of IEBC.

As a lawyer, Mr Chebukati knows the score, and to declare he will not resign is to be injudicious; he should do the sensible thing and pave way for the creation of a revamped commission capable of inspiring confidence in the public.

Yet in creating a new commission, it is foolhardy to expect different results from the process that yielded the same faulty results, twice. Going forward, Parliament should enact laws that ensures a fool-proof selection process devoid of political deal-making that ends up shortchanging the country over and over again.

Parliament has a chance to restore the confidence of the people in democracy; those who fear that a dysfunctional IEBC has denied them their choice of leaders.

Some of the reforms could include giving more teeth to the IEBC Secretariat which is teeming with personnel skilled in matters elections. Presently, so much power rests with the commissioners who are not selected because of their expertise in electoral matters.

If that is done, the Secretariat must deliberately roll out confidence-building campaigns to convince Kenyans that it can deliver a credible election in 2022.