Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka has hit out at President William Ruto’s nominees for appointment as the chairperson and commissioners for the Independent Electoral Commission (IEBC).

Speaking during the burial of the late Kariobangi North Member of County Assembly (MCA) Joel Munuve in Mwingi on Friday, May 9, 2025, Kalonzo said that he will mobilise thousands of people to watch over the elections in 2027.

“We have seen how President William Ruto has forwarded the names of individuals to be confirmed as chairman and commissioners for the IEBC. You cannot officiate a match in which you are also a player,” Kalonzo said.

“I have written to the president and also to Raila Odinga, but I have yet to receive correspondence from them. We are not going to let go of this easily.”

Mobilisation

“We shall mobilise 20,000 Kenyans to oversee our elections in 20,000 polling stations in this country, and we will not need your IEBC because Kenyans will determine their leaders themselves,” he stated.

Kalonzo also remarked that they will need a proper account of the IEBC results should the 2027 elections fail to go their way.

“When the results are finally released, we must know what exactly happened. We are not fearful, and we shall follow through closely,” he said.

IEBC nominees

Ruto nominated lawyer Erastus Edung Ethekon to be considered by the National Assembly for appointment as the next IEBC chairperson.

Alongside him, the president also nominated the former registrar of political parties, Anne Nderitu; lawyer Moses Alutalala; former Jubilee Party Executive Director Mary Karen Chesang Kigen; former Education and Sports Chief Administrative Secretary (CAS) Hassan Noor Hassan; former Technical University of Kenya (TUK) Vice-Chancellor Francis Aduol; and the 32-year-old former Lamu County employee, Fahima Abdallah, to be commissioners.

The remarks come just a day after the former vice president rejected Ruto’s nominees for the IEBC, noting that the principle of consultation and concurrence was flouted.

“We are extremely concerned that Ruto chose to be partisan by ignoring the Principle of Consultation and Concurrence in his recommendations of the chairman and members of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC),” Kalonzo said on his social media accounts.

He added, “As we had stated in prior correspondence on the subject, it is now evident that the intention is to rig not only the next election but also the upcoming by-elections. A comprehensive statement will be released by the Opposition on Monday, May 12, 2025.”