Give IEBC space to deliver fair elections

Three events this past week have brought the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) into focus.

First, the selection panel hiring four IEBC commissioners said it received more than 700 applications. Secondly, the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) judgment that declared the process unconstitutional.

Five High Court judges ruled that the IEBC was not properly constituted for lacking the quorum of commissioners to transact business. Thirdly, the by-elections, especially the Juja one where the IEBC chairman addressed cases of election violence.

Unlike the previous elections since the adoption of the 2010 Constitution and even before, the elections body has not been in the frontline of national discourse.

Due to Kenyans’ preoccupation with elections, their management is always a point of contestation. Whenever an election ends, there is usually a heated debate on the conduct of the election management body and a focus on its reforms.

There were criticisms of the manner that the 2017 elections were managed. The BBI process highlighted divisive elections as one of the fundamental challenges affecting Kenya.

One would expect that the challenges around the 2017 electoral process would have received detailed analysis, introspection and debate. The events of last week, however, show that not much has happened.

The next general election is slightly more than a year away. However, the blind spots for the country around this election are yet to be fixed.

Watching the political class and the police action during the by-elections, it is clear we are yet to learn any lessons. For the Commission to have to suspend tallying of votes and the chairman to get involved in resolving the troubles around the by-elections and reinforce the independence of the Commission demonstrate the real work ahead.

Free and fair elections determine a functioning democracy. Kenya’s electoral history demonstrates that credible polls are elusive.

Manipulation of elections has led to disagreements, violence, destruction of property and loss of lives. The electoral commission has been found to be culpable over the years, leading to the disbanding of the Electoral Commission of Kenya over the conduct of the 2007 general election.

Similarly in 2016, Commissioners of IEBC had to leave office following sustained push by the Opposition which accused them of bungling previous elections.

Despite the above actions, the 2017 elections were not any better. The current recruitment of four Commissioners is partly because of the 2017 events.

The recent by-elections, however, demonstrate that Kenya’s electoral challenges are beyond the IEBC.

It is important that elections be conducted in a fair and credible manner. The referee in such a contest should be independent, therefore, politicians must grant IEBC the space to work.

It is my view that it does not matter who we appoint to act as IEBC Commissioners if the political class are hell bent on manipulating the electoral process. The solution to the country’s electoral problems must, therefore, move beyond sole focus on changes at the referee to addressing the external influence brought to bear on the Commission.

The events of the by-election demonstrate both the high stakes of the upcoming electoral contest. The levels of bribery, use of security agencies, violence and disregard for the authority of the electoral commission is worrying.

Those who watch European soccer know that complaints about erroneous decisions by the Video Assistant Referee are raised respectfully and teams accept the decision even if grudgingly and do not attempt to influence that verdict.

This is critical for the smooth management of the game.

It is important to secure the independence of the IEBC.