Why the General Election is not only IEBC affair
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is preparing for one of the most defining moments in Kenya’s history.
As the Commission prepares to conduct this year’s General Election, it is not lost on us that the exercise is special and Kenyans expect nothing short of free, fair and credible polls.
Recently, the Commission made appointments to various positions including Commission Secretary/Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Deputy Commission Secretary/CEO - Operations, Deputy Commission Secretary/CEO – Support Services, Director of Information Communication and Technology and Director of Legal Services.
These appointments not only strengthen the Commission but also enable it to effectively perform its mandate.
The Commission’s county election managers, senior election officers and assistant election officers have since been reshuffled in preparation for the elections to promote impartiality.
The officers have been gazetted as County Returning Officers, Constituency Returning Officers and Deputy Constituency Returning Officers, respectively. They will be assisted by over 500,000 temporary personnel who will be recruited and adequately trained to support the election exercise.
National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Ukur Yatani in his Budget speech announced that IEBC was allocated Sh 21.7 billion for the exercise, leaving a deficit of Sh 4.5 billion.
The Commission will continue to engage its partners and other stakeholders to seek support to plug the budgetary deficit.
The voter verification which is ongoing is expected to end on June 2. Kenyans must remember that the election process is largely manual.
Technology is used only in three instances - voter registration, identification of a voter at the polling station through their biometrics and results transmission. We, therefore, urge registered voters to verify their details now.
One of the most important elements of any election is security. It is with this in mind that the Commission began engaging various stakeholders including the Judiciary, the National Police Service (NPS), the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution and the Independent Policing Oversight Authority, all of whom are crucial to the success of elections.
In doing this, the Commission is also helping to build the capacity of personnel who will be deployed to constituencies across the country.
The Commission in April launched the Election Security Assistance Programme (ESAP) as part of prevention and mitigation measures against the risk of insecurity. ESAP aims at coordinating security among the various actors to make the electoral process safe and secure.
The place of vulnerable people during elections must also be greatly considered. The Commission has paid close attention to women, youth, people with disabilities and the marginalised and the need to enhance their participation in elections.
Improved election security and reduction in their nomination fees will no doubt motivate and encourage these groups to participate in elections.
To help us in these efforts are the politicians who are the first beneficiaries of the electoral process. We must involve and integrate all leaders, in not only securing our elections but also in making sure that the country is not divided along political and ethnic lines after the General Election.
The Commission collaborates with various stakeholders in the delivery of its mandate. These key partners and stakeholders have varying interests and areas of focus around the electoral cycle and are appraised on the electoral process.
There is still a lot of work to be done to prepare for the elections, and the law mandates other government agencies to offer support when called upon by the Commission.
Elections are too important to be left to IEBC alone, let us all participate in making it a successful exercise.
—The writer is the Communication and Public Affairs Manager at IEBC
