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The IEBC has set tight timelines that must be met by all stakeholders in preparations for the August 9, 2022, election.
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On Monday, a court issued orders stopping the commission from ending the enhanced voter registration exercise. It was scheduled to end yesterday.
A litany of issues still stands in the way of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, threatening to derail its preparations less than 10 months to the next general election.
On Tuesday, the electoral agency overcame the first hurdle—tender battles. However, at least three issues, which experts say require urgent solutions, still lie ahead.
The IEBC has set tight timelines that must be met by all stakeholders in preparations for the August 9, 2022, election, but legal battles, financial starvation and tender wars are likely to slow down its operations plan.
On Monday, a court in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu county, issued orders stopping the commission from ending the enhanced voter registration exercise. It was scheduled to end yesterday.
A voter, Patrick Cherono, through lawyer Kairia Nabasenge, moved to the High Court where he successfully sought to stop the IEBC from ending the mass voter registration on the grounds that it had not met its target of about six million new voters.
Based on the low turnout after the third week of the registration drive, IEBC made new projections indicating it was expecting to have listed about 1.2 million new voters.
Justice Eric Ogolla on Monday said the orders would remain in place until November 9, when the case will be heard.
On Tuesday, acting IEBC chief executive Marjan Hussein expressed fears that the court order had left the commission in a fix.
He noted that the budget they had was to see the voter registration run until yesterday.
“The High Court in Eldoret issued orders prohibiting the IEBC from ending enhanced voter registration exercise. However, the commission does not have a budget for the same,” Hussein told the Star.
In June, the electoral agency, chaired by Wafula Chebukati, unveiled an election calendar with strict timelines for strengthening corporate governance, legal framework, institutional capacity, the conduct of elections, public outreach and strategic partnerships.
The court order came in the wake of yet another tussle between the IEBC and the government that stand in the way of a smooth rollout of the election calendar.
On July 12, the government directed that it has to approve any foreign funding to the IEBC and in case there is a need for such funding, it would be the one to initiate requests.
The government cited attempts by foreign entities to interfere in the conduct of elections and asked embassies, missions, international organisations and foreign bodies keen to support 2022 polls to wait.
This sparked outrage from the commission and other stakeholders who are of the opinion that the government overstepped its mandate and interfered with the independence of the agency.
The IEBC is also still troubleshooting how to navigate the requirement for a degree for MCAs and MPs in the next election.
In August a High Court in Nairobi quashed the law that demands all aspirants in the upcoming 2022 General Election to have a university degree.
There is also an amendment bill pending in Parliament. It seeks to delete Section 22 of the Elections Act, which, if passed by both the National Assembly and the Senate, will be a reprieve for elected leaders and aspirants without a degree.
On Tuesday, Musau Mule, the coordinator of Elections Observation Group, an NGO, said they had prewarned the IEBC and other frontline stakeholders, including Parliament, to put in place all the necessary preparations not less than one year to elections.
Speaking to the Star in a phone interview, Mule said such pitfalls were inevitable because of the delays by the IEBC and Parliament.
“We seem not to learn lessons from previous problems. The IEBC, Parliament and the Treasury are to blame for the mess we are witnessing. Such hurdles coming at this time is a threat to a free, fair and transparent election,” Mule said.
He said it is time the three institutions, among other stakeholders, worked together to address the challenges.
“Election calendar should be a rolling five-year event. Despite recommendations made by experts from previous elections, we are repeating the same route. The government should allow the IEBC to receive funding from donors and partners, it is a practice in other countries,” he said.
With the conclusion of mass voter registration, the IEBC is now expected to hire a reputable firm to audit its voter register before the year ends.
The law requires that the report by the audit firm be tabled in Parliament for approval before its recommendations are implemented by the IEBC.
The bicameral House will discuss the report and the IEBC will on February 28, 2022, suspend voter registration to pave the way for field verification from March 1 to April 14.
The certified voter register will then be generated and gazetted on May 2, 2022, three months to the polls.