Why IEBC CEO hiring is the next 2027 battlefront

IEBC Chair  Erastus Ethekon/FILE

The planned recruitment of a new chief executive for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is shaping into a political battleground for the 2027 General Election.

The position, vacated Tuesday following the exit of Hussein Marjan “by mutual consent” a year before his tenure officially ended, is far more than an administrative vacancy.

Proxy wars loom as politicians seek influence over the machinery that will manage the August 2027 vote, with rival camps viewing it as a step toward shaping the poll’s outcome.

The high-level interest stems from the CEO’s considerable power within the commission’s secretariat.

As the accounting officer, the chief executive controls the IEBC’s multi-billion shilling procurement budget, directly overseeing tenders for critical election technology, ballot papers, and logistics.

As Embakasi North MP James Gakuya notes, “the CEO is a central figure in an arena with big commercial and political interests.”

The CEO manages the secretariat that executes decisions on critical technology like the Kenya Integrated Elections Management System (KIEMS).

As a result, getting a replacement is viewed as a high-stakes political battleground with a huge bearing on the credibility of the country’s future elections.

The recruitment process for Marjan's successor is now the focal point of a fierce national debate, especially after his unceremonious exit.

It is the first major appointment to be undertaken by the newly reconstituted IEBC under chairperson Erastus Ethekon, whose team assumed office in July 2025.

The recruitment will be viewed as a critical test of whether this new commission can resist political pressure. Already, IEBC has pledged to make the process above board.

“We wish to assure Kenyans that any changes will be designed to ensure we achieve effective institutional preparedness, strengthen our internal accountability and results-oriented systems, and leadership continuity,” Ethekon said.

Obadiah Keitany and Ruth Kulundu are the current deputy CEOs, hence likely to hold fort during the transition. 

He went on, “The IEBC secretariat is very crucial in service delivery…it is the intention of the commission that it has to reflect the level of preparedness, passion and commitment to delivering credible, free and fair elections.”

For the opposition, questions are abounding about political capture.

A meeting by Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, hours before the commission announced Marjan’s exit, has stoked the flames.

DAP-K leader Eugene Wamalwa asked, “Is it in order for the Independent IEBC to be summoned by Felix Koskei after meeting the opposition? Were they receiving instructions on Marjan’s replacement, perhaps from a politically correct tribe?”

Koskei said the meeting was part of ongoing engagements between the executive and independent commissions. "The public service, as an instrument of government, has a responsibility to provide the commission with the support necessary to discharge this mandate effectively, while respecting its independence," he said.

The opposition has publicly stated it is keen on who leads the secretariat, hence their earlier push to oust Marjan. They fear the commission’s independence is in jeopardy.

COFEK Secretary General Stephen Mutoro echoed these concerns about independence, stating, “‘Independent’ on IEBC is now ‘interdependent.’’

“What has IEBC to do with public service? Instead, they would have invited the Head of Public Service. Someone tell Erastus Ethekon that he is running an independent commission, in public trust,” he said.

The new IEBC assumed office amid a cloud of suspicion that they were proteges of powerful individuals in the government of the day, an assertion they have fought.

ODM secretary general Edwin Sifuna urged caution, saying, “The problem we have with the commission is that most of the time, we do not know many of the reasons behind the decisions that they make.”

Sifuna added that the early exit could be positive “to ensure proper preparations for 2027”.

The clash of narratives will dominate the vetting of the next CEO candidate, even as election observers say there was no worse interference than the late constitution of the IEBC.

“Why did the team come late in the day, yet the Constitution requires the IEBC to be fully constituted all the time? That is already political interference,” Elog national coordinator Mule Musau stated.

He said there are usually factions, one which prefers having the secretariat as an ally, and others aligning with the commissioners.

“The question that emerged about whether Marjan could gazette the vacancy of deputy president during Gachagua's impeachment was clear evidence that the electoral process is interfered with politically,” Mule explained.

During the hiring of commissioners, opposition figures led by Kalonzo Musyoka and Martha Karua said appointments were part of a wider strategy to rig elections.

The government and its allies dismiss these claims, arguing that the IEBC is an independent institution and that professionals should be judged on their conduct, not their perceived associations.

For some political observers, there is imminent fear that the appointment could become a "tribal math" contest.

They argue that the ‘our person’ phenomenon could feature in the hiring.

The concern is that if the state picks a loyalist, the opposition will call for protests before the first ballot is printed.

If it’s seen as a tribal reward, the IEBC risks losing authority before the election even starts.

They forewarn of a crisis if President William Ruto and the opposition turn it into a tug-of-war.

Marjan's replacement will be recruited by the commissioners led by Chairman Ethekon. Other members are Vice chairperson Fahima Abdallah, Mary Sorobit, Ann Njeri Nderitu, Alutalala Mukhwana, Hassan Noor Hassan, and Prof Francis Aduol.

During their hiring, claims of ties with various players in the political architecture were rife, leading to some members of the opposition labelling IEBC as a ‘Ruto commission’.

As such, there is the belief that the state would not look away from the process, especially in view of Ruto’s reelection bid.

However, for critics like former Azimio chief agent Saitabao Kanchory, focusing only on the CEO without a scrutiny of the entire secretariat misses the larger problem.

“Most of these people have been with IEBC since 2013 and were involved in the last two bungled presidential elections, including the one of 2017, which was nullified by the Supreme Court,” he stated.

“Many are known dyed-in-the-wool partisan political operatives. All must be vetted afresh. For the pro broad-based commission of seven to deliver anything close to a credible election, the secretariat must be above reproach.”

The search for the next IEBC CEO is, in essence, the first major test for the country’s 2027 elections.

INSTANT ANALYSIS

A CEO appointed under a cloud of perceived political interference will start the job with a crippling deficit of trust from half the country, undermining every decision the IEBC makes ahead of the 2027 vote. On the flip side, a transparent, consensus-driven process could be the first real step in restoring the IEBC's battered credibility.