EU, observers raise alarm over slow 2027 election preparations

European Union ambassador to Kenya Henriette Geiger and a network of election observers have raised the alarm at the slow-paced preparations for the 2027 elections, less than two-and-half years away.

Geiger said that while the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission that conducted the 2022 election took office late but delivered the assignment, they worked under strained time with much pressure, and that the same should not be repeated this time around.

She spoke when she opened a seminar of election observers bring ing together electoral experts from all over the continent in Nairobi.

The seminar is hosted by the Election Observer Group.

“There is enough concern at the rate of preparation for the 2027 election given the short time before it. Though the commission was able to pull it off last time, the prudent principle is having enough time for adequate preparation to secure the democratic process and ensure stability of the country,” she said.

The head of the EU diplomatic delegation said with no IEBC commissioners in office, boundary delimitation has not been done and a number of by-elections are pending, meaning that a huge population of Kenya is not represented in national decision-making, marginalising them.

“Boundaries delimitation has not been done and a handful by-elections have not been done, among other key milestones that the commission needs to do as custodian of a democratic process,” she said.

Head of Elog Mulle Musau said the new commissioners to be appointed to IEBC will have the immediate task of building public confidence in the agency to give assurance to the public that they will do an impartial job.

“For me, the most pressing task for the new commission is to build back public confidence in its processes and capacity to deliver a credible election, starting with the pending by-elections that have had millions of Kenya unrepresented,” Musau said.

He said part of the confidence-building drive by the commission should be cleaning the voter register to allay any speculations about the credibility of the register used in past and future elections.

“All the concerns recently raised by SK Macharia on the register of voters have been consistently raised by Elog since 2012 but no one pays attention,” he said.

“We want the new commission to start by cleaning the current register and put up a new one that is above board, available for inspection and can guarantee a credible and predictable process but an unpredictable outcome.”

At the same time, election observers have raised concern over non-implementation of their recommendations, making their work in vain yet they churn out rich reports that can improve the electoral process in every cycle.

“We have noted that observers tend to make similar recommendations from time to time because they are not acted upon and hence no one pays attention in organising the polls. Kenyans should know that observers are their eyes and ears in the process and should be supported and have their voices heard,” Musau said.