South Sudan’s National Elections Commission (NEC) is in Kenya for a week-long benchmarking tour and peer exchange forum with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

IEBC in a statement issued on Monday, February 17, 2025, said that the neighbouring country’s electoral body is carrying out the trip as part of their preparations for the 2026 elections.

Head of Public Service and Chief of Staff Felix Koskei officially opened the forum on Monday, February 17, at the Kenya School of Government.

“This event marks an exciting opportunity for knowledge exchange between the Kenya’s IEBC and South Sudan’s NEC,” IEBC quoted Kosgei as having said.

IEBC on benchmarking tour

According to IEBC CEO Marjan Marjan, the South Sudan’s NEC is the first electoral commission to be hosted by IEBC in 2025.

“Our program leaves no stone unturned. All topics have been carefully selected, and facilitators are well-prepared. By the end of this workshop, I’m confident that both EMBs will take home invaluable lessons for future implementation,” Marjan was quoted in the statement shared by IEBC.

IEBC further says that the benchmarking tour aims to strengthen both electoral commissions, fostering greater collaboration and knowledge sharing.

“Prof. Abednego, Chairperson of South Sudan NEC, thanked the Government of Kenya, IEBC and Kenya School of Government for their hospitality. He encouraged the delegates to remain attentive and fully engaged throughout the workshop. The benchmarking tour aims to strengthen both electoral commissions, fostering greater collaboration and knowledge sharing as both countries prepare for future elections,” the statement read.

The National Elections Commission (NEC) of South Sudan is in Kenya for a week-long benchmarking tour and peer exchange forum with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). This is part of their preparations for the 2026 elections.#YourVoteYourFuture… pic.twitter.com/0LbygFB9Qb

— IEBC (@IEBCKenya) February 17, 2025

IEBC officials

However, IEBC does not have a chairman and commissioners , with their hiring process currently going on.

1,848 candidates have since applied to be considered for the above positions.

In a statement on Sunday, February 16, 2025, the IEBC Selection Panel led by Nelson Makanda revealed that over 1,800 applications were submitted by the close of the window on Saturday, February 15, 2025.

Makanda noted that the applications were delivered to the secretariat while others were submitted online.

“By the 5 p.m. deadline, we had received a total of 1,848 consisting of applications hand-delivered to the secretariat at 3rd floor, County House Building, Parliament Road and applications submitted online as PDF file format attachments that were mailed,” the statement read in part.

The new IEBC officials are expected to replace former chair Wafula Chebukati and the other commissioners who exited following the lapse of their tenure in January 2023.