Ethekon to politicians: We will not surrender our role to you

IEBC chairman Erastus Ethekon cautioned about a dangerous trend that was witnessed recently, where ‘super agents’ who are mainly politicians stormed polling stations and harassed electoral officials.

“We are seeing a new and very dangerous phenomenon where the so-called super agents are not ordinary agents but senior politicians who think they can simply walk into a polling station and take over the process,” the IEBC chairman said.

Speaking during a stakeholders’ meeting to review the recent by-elections on Monday morning in Nairobi, Ethekon warned that the commission will not tolerate such behaviour.

“Let me be extremely clear: assaulting IEBC officers is not politics; it is a criminal offence. Those responsible must be held personally accountable,” he said, adding that some of the individuals arrived with crowds of supporters, overran polling stations and sought to direct the work of our officials.

The IEBC chairman warned that if the culture is not tamed, the credibility of the 2027 general elections will be at stake.

“If this behaviour is allowed to take root, it will poison the environment long before 2027. Our message today is simple: this stops now. The idea that elections belong to politicians is wrong. Elections belong to citizens. IEBC is only the custodian of that sovereign will,” he told the gathering that included all police chiefs.

The electoral agency had invited stakeholders who including all political parties that participated in the November 27 by-elections, the media and state actors, to review the events of that day.

IEBC had been put on the spot over failure to take action on incidents which cast doubts on the integrity of the elections, in which senior politicians, including Cabinet Secretaries and MPs, almost overran the agency in different areas.

Mbeere North, Malava and Kaspul were among the constituencies where chaos was reported, as well as civic wards in Nyamira, Machakos and Nairobi counties.

Other than violence, voter bribery was reported in various areas, with the government being accused of distributing relief food in some areas ahead of the elections.

“We need professional agents, not people who storm stations looking for illegal advantage “The vote belongs to the voter. The outcome belongs to the people,” Ethekon said.

Other than the incidents of valance, the commission boss declared that the polls were largely devoid of any technical hitches in the technology that was deployed.

“The KIEMS kits delivered nearly perfect functionality, enabling a smooth and credible voting process. While we noted instances of voter apathy and isolated attempts to influence votes, the commission’s systems ensured the integrity of the elections was upheld,” he declared.