Poll agency determined to deliver free and fair general election

IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati. [Denish Ochieng, Standard]

Election management is a central element in the sustainability of elections. It is the avenue through which the people of Kenya exercise their political rights and activate their sovereign power as enshrined in the Constitution.

It is therefore imperative that our elections adhere to the general principles of our electoral system as encapsulated in the Constitution. These are: Freedom of citizens to exercise their political rights; not more than two-thirds of members of elective public bodies shall be of the same gender; fair representation of persons with disability; universal suffrage based on the aspirations for fair representation and equality of vote, and free and fair elections.

These are the yardsticks we must use in assessing our democracy and working towards making it stronger.

To ensure that it discharges its constitutional mandate in line with the rule of law and protects the sovereignty of the people of Kenya, the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has endeavoured to uphold its fidelity to the rule of law and the Constitution. It has not been an easy walk but it is a path the commission has kept in full appreciation of the solemn oath that we took on the assumption of office.

For us, preparations for these elections began immediately after the 2017 General Election with the conduct of Post-Election Evaluation and its report launched in February 2019. The report provided important insights into the 2017 General Election, and in particular, what worked, what did not work and areas of improvement.

Key among this were the findings of the Supreme Court ruling that nullified the presidential election results. The commission established an implementation mechanism that incorporated the reasoning of the Supreme Court, including results being final at the polling station and Forms 34A being the election results.

IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati and other commissioners inspect pellets containing the first batch of ballot papers at the JKIA. [Denish Ochieng' Standard]

The commission further consolidated the reasoning into its proposed legal reforms that were submitted to Parliament as part of the draft Election Amendment Bills that are yet to be enacted into law.

The commission has continued to sensitise stakeholders, and the public at large, on election timelines through press releases and stakeholder consultative forums. Where need be, the commission has varied these timelines in consultation with stakeholders but in strict compliance with the set electoral legal timelines.

The commission also carried out voter registration of citizens residing out of Kenya in 12 countries, namely the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Germany, South Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Africa. This exercise yielded 3,538 new voters, bringing the total number of diaspora voters to 10,443.

The commission then subjected the register to verification of biometric data, audit and cleaning up of the register by removing duplicate records of registration, deceased voters, registration done using invalid identification documents has produced a register of 22,120,458 voters with 46,233 polling stations.

The commission conducted the registration of candidates for the six elective seats from May 29 to June 6 where 16,098 candidates were registered. In instances where persons felt aggrieved by our decisions, the Commission’s Dispute Resolution Committee provided an avenue for redress. The committee dealt with 325 disputes out of which 31 went on appeal to the High Court by way of judicial review. So far the commission has registered five more candidates based on appeals allowed.

We urge the Judiciary to finalise the pending appeals to avert instances where the commission is unable to enforce court orders due to time constraints. In such instances, we may be compelled to postpone elections in areas where orders have come too late to be enforced.

It is instructive to note that the ballot printing and delivery process in ongoing and will be concluded on July 29, 2022. Indeed, all the strategic election materials, including the election technology, have been procured.

Ballot boxes during IEBC National Election Conference at the KICC, July 12, 2022. [Elvis Ogina, Standard]

The commission has also concluded recruitment of temporal poll officials before thoroughly training them on polling, counting and managing election results. The commission expects to utilise over 300,000 temporary poll officials, ranging from presiding officers to deputy presiding officers, poll clerks, ICT clerks and logistic assistants.

We request that the poll officials be accorded all the support they need and condemn the ethnic profiling of returning officers and their officers that is not only designed to intimidate them but may also incite members of the public to cause them harm.

In collaboration with the National Police Service, we are implementing the Election Security Arrangement Programme whose aim is to coordinate security management. Training on election security down to the constituency level is ongoing and it is expected that the election staff and the security sector will work together towards ensuring that the elections are conducted peacefully.

As the returning officer for the presidential elections, I specially call upon the candidates in the race to commit to peace before, during and after elections. I equally call upon the voters to turn out in large numbers and exercise their democratic rights on August 9.

-Mr Chebukati made these remarks during the National Election Conference held in Nairobi this week