Let the games begin: Inside IEBC's 2027 election calendar
National
By
Josphat Thiong’o
| Aug 22, 2026
The die is cast. The notice is out. And political players must now abide. The electoral body has officially blown the whistle, setting out a detailed roadmap governing voter registration, political party activities, candidate nominations, campaigns, election offences and preparations for the polls.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has officially gazetted the 2027 election calendar, further crystallising what is already shaping up to be a high-stakes political contest.
The Commission has now blown the whistle, setting out a detailed roadmap governing voter registration, political party activities, candidate nominations, campaigns, election offences and preparations for the polls, with the move effectively placing political parties, prospective candidates and other election stakeholders under the legal framework governing the conduct of the election.
The move effectively places political parties, prospective candidates and other election stakeholders under the legal framework governing the conduct of the election.
Concerns raised by the opposition in the recent past have, however, ignited questions over the polls body’s preparedness, with critics already highlighting what they term as systematic red flags for potential electoral fraud.
This even as challenges such as a surging goonism culture, delayed procurement of electoral technology and a Sh33.5 billion budget funding shortfall thrust the commission’s operations into sharp focus.
Through a Kenya Gazette Notice No. 13497, IEBC Chairperson Erastus Edung Ethekon on Thursday announced that the general election will be held on August 10, 2027. The notice formally brings into force the Electoral Code of Conduct and the Election Offences Act in preparation for the 2027 General Election.
Ethekon said the commission was committed to conducting the election in accordance with the law and guided by the principles of independence, accountability, transparency and professionalism.
“The foundation of a credible election is a clean, accurate and verifiable register of voters,” he stated.
According to the guidelines, Political parties now have until October 15, 2026, to submit the names of authorised persons and specimen signatures to the Commission. Nomination rules must also be certified by the Registrar of Political Parties by October 30, 2026, and submitted to IEBC by November 6.
Effectively, public officers seeking elective positions will be required to resign from office by February 10, 2027.
The electoral agency also mandates that parties must submit their membership lists and details of their primary elections by March 16, 2027, with all party primaries and related internal disputes slated to be concluded by May 8. Independent candidates will also be required to submit their names and symbols by May 8.
A key provision is also that Presidential aspirants must submit at least 2,000 signatures from registered voters in a majority of counties by May 24, 2027, whereas candidate registration will take place between May 29 and June 11, 2027, with the process according to the elective position.
Presidential candidates will be registered between May 29 and June 11, while National Assembly candidates will undergo registration between May 29 and June 1.
Senatorial candidates will be registered between May 29 and June 2, Governors between June 3 and June 6, County Assembly Ward candidates between June 2 and June 11, and County Woman Representative candidates between June 7 and June 11.
“Any disputes arising from candidate nominations must be filed within 24 hours, and no later than June 12. The disputes must be resolved by June 23,” adds the notice.
Ethekon also emphasised that the official campaign period will begin on May 29, 2027, and will end on August 7, three days before the polls. He, however, warned against campaigning outside the prescribed period, including the use of posters and billboards.
Telling, however, was the announcement by IEBC that procurement of technology and ballot papers has temporarily been halted as the tenders undergo review. The Commission said a recent High Court judgment interpreting the constitutional timing of the next election had been suspended pending the 2027 polls, allowing preparations to continue on schedule.
The halting came just a week after IEBC announced that it had officially opened the tendering process for the multi-billion-shilling election technology and materials. The electoral agency issued two major international tenders seeking suppliers for an Integrated Elections Management System (IEMS), hardware and accessories, ballot papers, tactile folders, the Register of Voters and statutory election result declaration forms.
Under the first tender, IEBC is seeking a contractor to supply, deliver, install, test, commission, support and maintain the Integrated Elections Management System and associated hardware and accessories. The successful bidder will be expected to provide the infrastructure required by the commission as it prepares for the management of the electoral process.
The tender has been opened to qualified local and international firms through an open competitive international procurement process.
The second tender by IEBC is for the for the supply and delivery of ballot papers, tactile folders, the Register of Voters and statutory election result declaration forms. The materials will be supplied on an “as and when required” basis for three years, covering the 2027 election cycle and other electoral requirements during the contract period.
The gazettement of the electoral calendar, however, comes under a cloud of intense political scrutiny, as opposition leaders have in the recent past criticised the commission’s adherence to the electoral timelines and the process’s transparency. Critics have argued that delayed procurement risks system failures and a rushed rollout of the voter identification and results transmission systems.
Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua on Wednesday challenged IEBC chairman Ethekon to explain the commission's level of preparedness for the 2027 election.
“What Ethekon must tell us is the level of preparedness,” Gachagua said.
He called on the IEBC to sit down with all political players, including the opposition, and take them through the preparations so that they can interrogate the process and make suggestions ahead of the election.
“We are asking him to sit with everybody, including the opposition and take us through the process and explain to us the level of preparedness so that we can interrogate the preparedness and make suggestions so that the election takes place as outlined in the Constitution,” he said.
His sentiments came against the backdrop of Wiper Patriotic Front leader Kalonzo Musyoka and former Attorney General Justin Muturi’s renewed calls for IEBC to keep Smartmatic out of the 2027 polls. Smartmatic was the technology provider during the 2022 election but
faced intense scrutiny and political pushback over transparency, system configurations, and links to disputed election tallies.
Addressing faithful at Redeemed Gospel Church in Kithimani Township, Machakos County, on Sunday, Kalonzo challenged the IEBC to stay the course with its new procurement process instead of allowing delays to create a route back for Smartmatic.
“IEBC, the world extends beyond Kenya; the world is watching you,” Kalonzo said.
He claimed that attempts were being made to frustrate the procurement process until time runs out, forcing the commission to fall back on the existing technology provider.
“We stated that we cannot go into the next election with Smartmatic as the software provider,” he said.
Kalonzo did not name the people he accused of interfering with the process, but warned that the opposition would resist any attempt to bring Smartmatic back through what he described as procurement manoeuvres.
“We know these games. These games must come to an end,” he said.
He cited Article 1 of the Constitution, which places sovereign power in the hands of the people, arguing that technology used during elections must strengthen that power rather than create another layer between citizens and the institutions meant to protect their vote.
The Wiper leader pointed to the youth-led protests against the Finance Bill as an example of citizens exercising their constitutional power directly.
Muturi, who was speaking at ACK Mukuria Hungu in Murang'a town on Sunday, warned that Kenya could find itself confronting the same technological questions that emerged during the 2022 presidential election petition.
His concern was not simply which company supplies the technology. It is what happens when the technology becomes evidence. Muturi wants the electoral system to allow authorised Kenyan institutions, particularly the courts, to examine the electronic trail behind election results whenever a dispute arises.
“We want the rights of every voter to be protected. Conduct a transparent and verifiable process,” he said.
He questioned the possibility of a foreign company controlling critical electoral data and then invoking intellectual property rights when Kenyan institutions seek access to the systems.
“You cannot have a situation where a foreign company has the data of all Kenyans and, when asked to open the system, says no. That kind of contract we cannot accept,” he said.
Previously, Muturi had also criticised the Commission’s Election preparedness plan, saying the opposition had been sidelined and kept in the dark over the 2027 polls, adding that their letters to the Commission seeking engagement were ignored.
“Elections belong to the people of Kenya. They do not belong to the IEBC Secretariat. They do not belong to a few officials sitting in boardrooms. They do not belong to consultants, vendors, or bureaucrats. They belong to the sovereign people of Kenya whose votes determine the future of this nation,” Muturi said.
He questioned the decision by the electoral agency to launch the Elections Operations Plan without meaningful involvement of stakeholders who would be affected by the decisions made ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Muturi said elections should not be planned behind closed doors, arguing that the process belongs to Kenyans, not only the IEBC Secretariat, officials, consultants or vendors involved in managing elections.
On his part, IEBC chairperson Ethekon has maintained that the polls body is ready to provide free, fair and credible polls. He also urged restraint ahead of the election.
“Let us choose peace over violence, unity over division and issues over personalities.”
He called on Kenyans to register as voters, verify their details, reject misinformation and exercise their democratic rights peacefully. His message was in line with the commission's goal to register approximately 28.5 million voters, compared to the 22.1 million registered voters in the 2022 General Election.
According to data from IEBC, 2,936,516 Kenyans have been registered as of August 20, 2026.