Ezra Chiloba: Give electoral commission the benefit of doubt

IEBC chief executive officer Dr. Ezra Chiloba appears before National assembly Justice and Legal Affairs committee defending their budget for the financial year 2015 at parliament buildings on 13/05/15. PICTURE BY GOVEDI ASUTSA.

Q: Beyond the resignation calls, do you recognize that there’s need for essential electoral reforms ahead of 2017 election, and what are some of the areas requiring the reforms?

A: You will be surprised to know that we are ahead of our accusers in terms of reforming or beginning conversations on the electoral environment. The first thing to appreciate is that Kenya has always conducted a general election every five years since independence. The quality of election is a different matter altogether. The fact of the matter is that we seem to appreciate, as a nation, that elections are the only way of legitimizing state authority and its leadership. This is important.