Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission

Membership

The Commission is made up of seven commissioners and a CEO appointed by them (who also acts as the commission secretary). The commissioners are appointed by the President of Kenya and confirmed by the Kenyan Parliament. Each member serves a six-year term. By law, no Commissioner can be a member of a political party, and at least four votes are required for any official Commission action. Once appointed, the new commissioners are sworn in by the chief justice in office at the time of their appointment.

Commissioners

• Current Commissioners
  • Mr. Erastus Edung Ethekon, HSC – Chairperson
  • Ms. Fahima Araphat Abdallah, OGW – Vice Chairperson
  • Ms. Anne Njeri Nderitu, CBS – Commissioner
  • Dr. Alutalala Mukhwana – Commissioner
  • Mrs. Mary Karen Sorobit – Commissioner
  • Mr. Hassan Noor Hassan, EBS – Commissioner
  • Prof. Francis Odhiambo Aduol – Commissioner

Source:

Immediate former

• Albert Casmus Bwire June 2008 confirmed 9 November 2011
• Kule Galma Godana June 2008 confirmed 9 November 2011
• Amb. Yusuf A. Nzibo June 2008 confirmed 9 November 2011
• Eng. Abdullahi Sharawe June 2008 confirmed 9 November 2011
• Thomas Letangule June 2008 confirmed 9 November 2011
• J. Muthoni Wangai June 2008 confirmed 9 November 2011
• Mohamed Alawi Hussun June 2008 confirmed 9 November 2011
• Prof. Abdi Yakub Guliye – sworn in on 19 January 2017
• Molu Boya – sworn in on 19 January 2017
• Ezra Chiloba 2015 Commission Secretary appointed Director-General of Communications Authority of Kenya
• Wafula Chebukati- 2017 https://www.iebc.or.ke/iebc/?commissioners

Offices

National office

The IEBC national office is located on the 6th Floor of Anniversary Towers, University Way in Nairobi.

Constituency offices

The Commission currently has offices in every constituency and county in the country.

Key roles

For the Kenyan general election, 2013, IEBC has appointed individuals to the following positions:

Returning Officer

These are individuals appointed by the commission for the purpose of conducting an election or a referendum at the County Level. County Returning Officers are assisted by Deputy County Returning Officers.

Constituency Returning Officer

These are individuals appointed by the commission for the purpose of conducting an election or a referendum at the Constituency-Level. Constituency returning officers will be assisted by a Deputy Constituency Returning Officer.

Elections carried out

Source:

The Commission has the constitutional mandate to conduct and supervise referendums and elections to any elective body or office established by the Constitution, and any other elections as prescribed by an Act of Parliament.

By-Elections

General Elections

The commission organised the general election on 4 March 2013. The presidential election was petitioned at the Supreme Court of Kenya.

The IEBC's handling of the Kenyan general election, 2017, has drawn scrutiny. The Supreme Court of Kenya invalidated the first Presidential election results due to voting irregularities. Former IEBC Commissioner Roselyn Akombe also issued a statement declaring that the second Presidential election would not be a fair election. Just before making this statement, she resigned and fled to the United States out of fear for her life.

Potential misinformation on social media platforms.

A fake statement was circulating on Facebook claiming that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) had issued a clarification on the distribution of 6,000 additional polling stations in Kenya before the 2022 general elections. This misinformation was not posted by IEBC and it was looked into by PesaCheck and Code for Africa.

References

References

1. (2020-03-09). "Role of Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission".
2. "Kenya: Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission". [[Electoral Institute for Sustainable Democracy in Africa]].
3. "88. Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission - Kenya Law Reform Commission (KLRC)".
4. "Visions, Mission and Mandate". Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission.
5. Njeru, Betty. "Four new IEBC Commissioners sworn in".
6. "Commissioners".
7. "We've set the pace for our successors, Chebukati says as he bows out".
8. (9 November 2011). "Kibaki appoints IEBC team, new Ombudsman".
9. 28 September 2021, Tuesday. (2021-09-28). "Ex-IEBC boss Ezra Chiloba appointed new CA director general".
10. "IEBC - index.PHP".
11. "IEBC - index.PHP".
12. "IEBC - index.PHP".
13. "IEBC - index.PHP".
14. (2018-05-25). "The Six Types of Elections in Kenya".
15. "Mandate".
16. "IEBC declares Mutula Kilonzo Jnr Makueni Senator". Daily Nation.
17. "IEBC bosses to hold four by-elections before exit". Daily Nation.
18. "Raila to challenge Uhuru's victory in court{{Snd}} Politics". nation.co.ke.
19. de Freytas-Tamura, Kimiko. (1 September 2017). "Kenya Supreme Court Nullifies Presidential Election". The New York Times.
20. (28 June 2020). "Roselyn Akombe quits: The full statement".
21. (18 October 2017). "Kenyan election official flees to U.S. in fear for her life, saying new election will not be fair". [[Los Angeles Times]].
22. (18 October 2017). "Why Roselyne Akombe resigned".
23. (6 September 2017). "BREAKING: High ranking IEBC chiefs have protested and refused to resign, says Roselyne Akombe". KDRTV.
24. PesaCheck, PesaCheck. "FAKE: This statement on distribution of 6,000 additional polling stations is not from IEBC".