Speaking in
an interview on Thursday, outgoing EU Ambassador Henriette
Geiger said the country has implemented “hardly any” of the reforms
recommended by international election observers despite preparations for the
next elections gathering pace.
Geiger said
little progress has been made in implementing recommendations aimed at
improving the credibility, inclusivity and efficiency of Kenya’s electoral
system.
This comes
as the reconstituted Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission unveiled
its operational plan on June 24, rolling out preparations for the 2027
General Election.
“There was,
indeed, a whole host of recommendations from the Election Observation Mission,”
Geiger said.
“We also
conducted a follow-up mission, which found that hardly any of those
recommendations had been implemented.”
The envoy
warned that the failure to act on the recommendations means Kenya enters
another election cycle facing many of the same challenges that emerged during
previous polls.
“Very
little has happened in implementing those recommendations, so we find ourselves
in much the same position as we were after the last elections,” she said.
The remarks
reinforce concerns the ambassador first raised in March last year, when she
urged Kenya to fast-track electoral reforms ahead of the next General Election.
More than a year later, her latest assessment suggests that progress has
remained minimal, despite renewed efforts by the IEBC as it prepares for the
2027 polls.
The
electoral reforms proposed by the EU Election Observation Mission covered a
broad range of issues, including campaign financing, women’s political
participation, electoral dispute resolution and improvements in election
administration.
The mission
also recommended measures to make Kenya’s electoral process more efficient and
less costly.
Geiger
noted that the recommendations were not unique to the EU but reflected a broad
consensus among international election observer missions.
“These were
not only recommendations of the European Union. These were basically the same
recommendations made by all the other electoral observer missions,” she said.
She said
she had compared the recommendations issued after the 2017 elections with those
made following the 2022 polls and found that they were “almost identical”, an
indication that successive elections have exposed recurring weaknesses without
corresponding reforms.
“That means
from 2017 to 2022, not much happened, and from 2022 to now, not much has
happened,” she said.
Her remarks
come at a critical moment for Kenya’s electoral preparations.
The IEBC,
whose commissioners were sworn into office a year ago after a prolonged
vacancy, has begun implementing its 2027 polls operational plan.
Parliament
is also considering a raft of electoral law amendments proposed by the
commission to facilitate preparations for the polls.
However,
Geiger suggested that operational readiness alone may not be sufficient if
longstanding institutional reforms remain unimplemented.
Among the
issues repeatedly highlighted by election observer missions are stronger
regulation of campaign financing, greater inclusion of women and marginalised
groups in elective politics, enhanced transparency in election management and
measures to reduce the high cost of conducting elections.
Kenya’s
elections remain among the most expensive globally, with concerns frequently
raised over procurement, election technology and the sustainability of
electoral spending.
While
stressing that electoral reforms remain the sovereign responsibility of Kenya,
Geiger said the EU could only continue to offer technical support and
recommendations.
“Every
country determines its own path and its own pace. There is nothing we can do
beyond making recommendations and offering support, which we remain ready to
do,” she said.
The
ambassador also raised questions about the future of EU election observation in
Kenya, noting that no decision has been made on whether the bloc would deploy
an observation mission for the 2027 elections.
“First, we
would need an invitation, which we have not received. Second, we would need to
assess whether such a mission would make sense if the recommendations from the
previous mission have largely gone unimplemented,” she said.
Her
comments add fresh pressure on the poll agency as the country embarks on
preparations for another closely contested election.
With the
IEBC now back in office and electoral timelines beginning to take shape,
attention is increasingly shifting from logistical readiness to whether it will
address the structural weaknesses that international observers have repeatedly
flagged after successive elections.
