Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioner Dr. Alutalala Mukhwana has defended the agency’s commitment to impartiality amid public mistrust surrounding the commission.
Speaking during an interview with Spice FM, Mukhwana acknowledged that many Kenyans associate the commissioners with various political affiliations due to their past professional interactions.
“All of us, somehow, dotted lines were traced and linked to certain political leaders. And they say because we have worked with some of those politicians, we are not going to be impartial,” he said.
However, he emphasised that such connections should not
disqualify commissioners from serving.
“We ask, we live in this country and the Constitution does not bar you from ascending to any job by the sheer fact that you have interacted with somebody who is in leadership,” Mukhwana explained.
He challenged Kenyans to reconsider their expectations, noting that if the Constitution’s framers intended IEBC commissioners to have no political connections, they would have clearly stated so.
“Maybe they should have said we need the UN, or invite citizens of another country to sit at the IEBC,” he said.
Mukhwana challenged politicians to help the commission overcome the trust problem.
“Our politicians from both divides engage in talk that is not helping in uniting the population in this pursuit,” he said.
Mukhwana further said that mutual distrust has led to an
over-regulation of the commission.
“It is close to paranoia. Because we do not trust each other, we have put layers and layers of regulations governing IEBC,” he added.
Public confidence in the IEBC’s integrity, however, remains low.
A May survey conducted by Tifa Research found that half of Kenyans lack confidence in the selection process of new commissioners or in the fairness of the upcoming 2027 General Election.
The poll, which interviewed 2,024 respondents nationally between May 2 and 6, revealed 50 percent of respondents were "not confident at all" in the integrity of the next election.
Only 20 percent said they were "very confident" about the electoral process, while 21 percent expressed being "somewhat confident," and 9 percent were unsure.
Confidence in the selection of the new IEBC Chairperson and Commissioners was similarly low, reflecting a widespread skepticism about the commission’s impartiality and effectiveness.
