The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has in the last two attempts failed to recruit a substantial chief executive officer. 

This is a very crucial role that requires an individual of exemplary credibility and independence of mind to balance the many intrigues that surround the officeholder, especially during an elections. 

IEBC hounded the previous CEOs out of office in disgrace, exposing them to legal battles, because of the failure to adhere to rules of the game.

As the commission recently announced plans to start the process again, only eight months to the election, it must take a serious reflective moment to carry out a transparent process that will not face any legal minefields in its way for this will be very costly in an electoral process that has already generated controversy.

The commission is still lagging behind in preparations on all fronts for an election, a transition one that is likely to be closely and hotly contested.

The 2017 presidential election that was nullified by Supreme Court, squarely shifted the blame on IEBC. 

Due to time constraints, the commission was ill-prepared by the elections.

The 2017 election was the first to be held under an elaborate regime of electoral laws, including amendments to the Elections Act that introduced the Kenya Integrated Electoral Management System (KIEMS).

This was a new device intended to be used in the biometric voter registration, and, on the election day, for voter identification and the transmission of election results from polling stations simultaneously to the Constituency Tallying Centre (CTC) and the National Tallying Centre (NTC). It failed on election day.

Preparation of elections requires a properly constituted commission and Secretariat. 

First, it took inordinately long to fill the vacant positions of the new commissioners. 

The credibility of IEBC has over the years been tested and as we draw near the elections, the commission must strive to change, and win the public confidence that it will deliver a free, fair, and credible election.

The commission has in the past not enjoyed goodwill from political actors. It must engage other agencies to enjoy new support. 

For instance, there has been the case of inadequate and untimely disbursement of funding for election preparations.  The commission usually gets funding during the election year.

But IEBC has been lobbying for additional funds from the Treasury, for example, to plug the hole in its Sh40 billion budget for the polls.

Claims of meddling in the work of the electoral agency by the State make matters even worse. 

In a letter dated November 22, IEBC withdrew from the election preparation committee that draws members from critical institutions, alleging interference with its constitutional independence and hijacking of some of its election management roles.

Before the exit, the committee comprised of the IEBC, Attorney General Paul Kihara Kariuki, Chief Justice Martha Koome (Judiciary), Cabinet Secretaries Fred Matiang’i (Interior), Ukur Yatani (Treasury), Joe Mucheru (ICT), Director-General National Intelligence Service (NIS) Maj-Gen (Rtd) Philip Kameru and Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai.

 IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati told the Senate Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs that his team was especially uncomfortable with being required to report to an unnamed agency about issues touching on its mandate.

The withdrawal of IEBC is likely to strain its relationship with the agencies it needs to provide crucial operational support for the elections -including security, ICT and funding. —The writer is a Public Policy Analyst  —[email protected]