NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 26 — The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has ruled out conducting a review and delimitation of electoral boundaries before the 2027 General Election.
Appearing before the National Assembly’s Constitution Implementation and Oversight Committee (CIOC) on Thursday, IEBC Chairperson Erastus Ethekon cited legal hurdles and limited timelines, saying the exercise would be impossible to complete within the less than two years left before the polls.
“We need a minimum of two to three years to carry out this fairly emotive exercise. Looking at the timelines and all the other activities we must undertake before 2027, I doubt we can adhere to them,” said Ethekon.
He added that the commission may seek Parliament’s intervention on timelines and approach the Judiciary for an advisory opinion on the way forward.
Ethekon was responding to committee vice chairperson William Kamket, who questioned the practicality of the review and the implications of not completing it before the elections.
“It is already past time for you to conduct the boundaries review and delimitation. Looking at how you are proceeding, I am afraid you might not be able to unlock the current crisis. What is the worst that could happen if we do not implement it before the general elections?” posed Kamket.
Committee Chairperson Caroli Omondi warned that the delay could expose the 2027 polls to legal challenges. He further cautioned IEBC against relying on the National Dialogue Committee (NADCO) report, saying it was politically driven and could compromise the commission’s impartiality.
“I would urge you to leave the NADCO proposals out of this and come up with your own way forward,” Omondi said.
Constitutional review
The NADCO report had recommended that boundary reviews be conducted every 10 to 20 years, instead of the constitutional requirement of 8 to 12 years.
Article 89(2) of the Constitution provides that IEBC must review constituency boundaries within that interval. The last review was in March 2012, meaning the deadline lapsed in March 2024.
Ethekon clarified that any future review would not alter the current 290 constituencies but could affect the 1,450 wards in terms of names and numbers.
Meanwhile, the commission disclosed that the 2027 General Election will cost Sh57.3 billion, with the polls set for August 10.
According to IEBC Chief Executive Officer Marjan Hussein, the commission had initially requested Sh61 billion, but the figure was rationalized down to Sh57.3 billion.
The Sh57.3 billion budget includes Sh2.5 billion for stakeholder engagement, Sh1.4 billion to media campaigns, Sh1 billion for legal reforms, Sh8 billion for continuous voter registration and Sh5.9 billion for ballot printing.
Other areas are staff training (S3.9 billion), transport (Sh4.1 billion), system maintenance (Sh2.4 billion) and simulation exercises (Sh1 billion).
The commission is also grappling with pending bills amounting to Sh5.7 billion, mainly legal fees.
Marjan noted these are not included in the current budget and remain under discussion with the National Treasury.
