Marjan's exit: Inside IEBC's credibility test

When IEBC and the Evangelical Alliance of Kenya (EAK) have announced a partnership to mobilise voters on February 4, 2026. [Benard Orwongo, Standard]

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) says it has not extended the controversial contract for voting technology provider Smartmatic.

Chairman Erastus Ethekon also maintained that the resignation of Chief Executive Officer  Hussein Marjan was in the best interest of the nation, but declined to confirm if it had anything to do with the contract for Kenya Integrated Elections Management System (KIEMS) kits.

Amid pressure from the United Opposition, Ethekon yesterday announced that technical teams were yet to submit their proposals for their examination and approval.

“There is a difference between the factual truth and what is being said out there. One of our responsibilities is to oversee and to ensure that the procurement of critical election materials is done and is done within the law. The way we work is that we discuss with our technical teams, who then submit to us proposals that are examined at the policy level before we approve,” he said during a prayer breakfast with Evangelical Alliance of Kenya (EAK).

Ethekon said the commission needed time to institute changes to deliver credible elections. 

“Those changes we are making are in the interest of the country to bring success to all of us. Even as we recruit the new CEO, we shall do that in a transparent process,” he said.

In his communication on Marjan’s exit, the chairman spoke about a need for "critical reforms within the secretariat" ahead of next year's elections. 

The Opposition, which has been pushing for Marjan’s removal, vowed to push for his prosecution for "executing functions not designated to him before the IEBC was fully constituted". It also pledged to push the commission to terminate its dealings with Smartmatic.

“Through my letter dated September 12 last year, I had specifically asked the commission about the Smartmatic contract, among other issues such as the minutes of decision to engage the technology providing company and the commission’s preparedness, but they said the information was private,” said Ndegwa Njiru, a lawyer.

According to him, awarding the company the contract would be "a political tool used to orchestrate a bloodless, soldierless political coup across the globe".

“The technology can't guarantee a free, fair, secure and verifiable election. Our issues are that anything to do with Smartmatic, be it KIEMS kits, data, all that is contaminated and its integrity can't be vouched. The voters' register must be discarded, declared unfit to contain the data crucial to an election.” 

He maintained that stakeholders would not allow a company that had controversies in countries such as Venezuela, America, Uganda, the Philippines, among others, to supply voting technology for the 2027 elections.

In a meeting with IEBC last week, the Opposition raised concerns over the security of electronic transmission and potential manipulation, following revelations of questionable dealings involving the Venezuelan firm.

“This same technology was used in Uganda. The KIEMS kits failed there, and we do not want to see a similar election in Kenya. There are serious issues we have raised with IEBC, and we believe they will address them. All we await is goodwill and confidence-building through a road map that we will engage quarterly with them,” said Eugene Wamalwa, DAP-K party leader.

Smartmatic, founded by Venezuelan engineers, is registered in the Netherlands and headquartered in the UK.

Controversy in Kenya dates back to July 2022, when three Venezuelan IT experts – Jose Gregorio Camargo Castellanos, Salvador Javier Sosa Suarez, and Joel Gustavo Rodriguez Garcia – hired by IEBC, were arrested at JKIA while in possession of IEBC stickers.

The then Directorate of Criminal Investigations boss, George Kinoti, said the nationals were flagged at the airport for carrying election materials.

“Upon investigations, police established that the suspects’ contracts did not explicitly state they were IEBC employees or staff of the IT firm contracted to deliver poll materials, as alleged by IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati. Camargo confessed that he received the materials from Panama via his company, Smartmatic International Holding BV, and that the material was destined for a private office in Nairobi,” Kinoti said.

Azimio la Umoja Coalition presidential candidate Raila Odinga filed an unsuccessful petition at the Supreme Court in 2022. His lawyers argued that Smartmatic IT experts had rigged the polls.

More credibility issues on Smartmatic intensified this year when a former Venezuelan intelligence chief cast a shadow over the company, raising questions about Kenya’s electoral integrity. 

From a US federal prison, Hugo “El Pollo” Carvajal labelled President Nicolas Maduro’s government a “narco-terrorist organisation”. He alleged that Smartmatic’s electronic voting systems – the same used in Kenya – had been manipulated by Maduro.