LSK President Faith Odhiambo has warned of major consequences should the delays in the constitution of the IEBC continue.
In a statement dated Tuesday, January 14, Odhiambo opined that the delays were a ticking time bomb that would ultimately affect the conduct and transparency of the 2027 General Election.
Due to the delays, the LSK President noted that various constitutional requirements such as timelines for the review of boundaries had not been met.
Additionally, she opined that IEBC needed sufficient time to address various issues, including cleaning the voter register.
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THE ELECTORAL TIME BOMB
— Faith Odhiambo (@FaithOdhiambo8) January 14, 2025
Amid the disconcerting murmurs from some political players of their intention to defeat and derail the will of the people of Kenya in 2027, the delay in the reconstitution of the @IEBCKenya becomes an even more urgent undertaking. Kenya is in and at the… pic.twitter.com/YxsZEtYjbC
Therefore, she expressed that the delays would prove costly in the long run.
The current voter register demands immediate action. Discrepancies, including deceased voters, invalid identification documents, and double registrations, were revealed in audits conducted in 2017 and 2022. Moreover, the boundary delimitation process necessitates updating the voter register to reflect the new electoral unit," read the statement in part.
"For instance, audits conducted in 2022 showed that there are identified discrepancies in the current boundaries, with voter registration rates in over 100 constituencies exceeding 100% based on 2019 census data."
Consequently, she called upon the judiciary to dispense the appeal case that had caused delays in the constitution panel which is set to vet those seeking to become IEBC commissioners.
"It has been 3 months since the High Court rendered its judgement in the dispute, and the non-prosecution of the incidental appeal demands that the court protects the sanctity of its process for the good of Kenya and the Constitution," she added.
"The abuse of the court to stifle a constitutionally time-bound process is an affront to the principles and objects of judicial authority, and we invite the court to assert its firm defence of these all too important principles."
Currently, IEBC does not have any commissions. Therefore, it cannot undertake critical work such as conducting elections and by-elections.
As a result, some constituencies currently do not have Members of Parliament.
