Omogeni demands urgent IEBC reforms ahead of 2027 election
By Kiprono Keileb, August 4, 2025Nyamira Senator Okong’o Omogeni has called for sweeping electoral reforms, saying the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) must urgently rebuild public confidence ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Speaking during a political talk show aired on local television on Monday, August 4, 2025, Omogeni said that while Parliament has already laid the legal groundwork for a transparent electoral process, the ball is now firmly in IEBC’s court.
“IEBC have a lot of work to do to build public trust; the public trust deficiencies are at their lowest, we put an enabling legal framework in place, the rest is for the IEBC to implement,” he said.
Omogeni emphasised the need for rigorous pre-election training for IEBC officers, especially in light of changes in the law designed to tighten accountability.
“The best way to do an implementation is to take the officers through a rigorous pre-election training and warn them that the law has now changed; nobody should come and tempt you with money to interfere with anything,” he said.
Central to the reforms, Omogeni revealed, is a new proposal to strip the IEBC chairperson of the sole power to declare the presidential election results, a task he said should be devolved to the 290 constituency returning officers (ROs).
“We even want to take away this idea of the chairman of IEBC to declare the presidency, we have proposed to give that task to 290 returning officers at the constituency level. That is the bill that is on the floor,” Omogeni stated.
Under the new plan, Omogeni said, ROs would count and declare presidential votes first, ensuring results are available nationally by mid-morning.
“We said let the law state clearly that the counting of the presidential election will be the first task, you start with the presidential election to count and make a declaration as a returning officer. By 11 o’clock, the nation should have the results from constituencies,” he stated
He argued this approach would allow the public and stakeholders to track results as they come in and immediately question inconsistencies at the constituency level rather than escalating disputes nationally.
“From there, people can make projections, and if there is an issue, you can take the returning officer from a constituency,” he added.
Omogeni also questioned the continued use of manual processes in a country that has heavily invested in electoral technology.
“Why do we invest in technology yet we vote manually, we count manually, and make pronouncements at polling stations?” he asked.
He concluded by urging the electoral body to prioritise credibility and restore trust:
“Let’s ensure that at the polling station and tallying centre, things are done credibly. IEBC need to make reforms to ensure there is trust,” he concluded