The European Union has submitted three proposals to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for the 2027 elections.
On Tuesday, February 18, IEBC officials led by the Commission’s Chief Executive Officer, Marjan Hussein, welcomed a European Union group to Kenya for an electoral follow-up mission.
The mission’s goal was to evaluate the Commission’s electoral process, which it used to organize a successful 2022 General Election and to make recommendations for improvements.
During the conference, the foreign delegation proposed severe steps to increase women’s participation in government by maintaining the two-thirds gender rule.
The EU mission, led by voting Expert Dimitra Ioannou, also advocated for changes in election technology to increase efficiency, lower costs, and strengthen the security of voting results.
Furthermore, the delegation requested President William Ruto’s administration to give the Commission timely and appropriate money to assist the IEBC in executing ongoing voter education ahead of the 2027 elections.
During the discussion, CEO Marjan thanked the EU for its support of the Commission and acknowledged that the measures offered would improve the electoral process.
Marjan also emphasized the Commission’s efforts in implementing suggestions in its procedures, such as legal revisions to the two-thirds gender norm.
“The visit is part of the Commission’s stakeholder engagement meetings ahead of the 2027 General Election,” IEBC revealed.
“The discussion focused on the implementation of the recommendations and the gaps identified.”
The proposals come in the wake of the Commission’s efforts in selecting a viable chairperson. As of Monday, February 17, the selection panel in charge of recruiting nominees announced that it had received over 1,800 applications.
The panel, led by Nelson Makanda, also said that it had begun the verification process and would shortly provide a long list of all applications.
“By the 5 pm deadline, we had received a total of 1,848 applications consisting of applications hand-delivered to the secretariat on the 3rd floor, County House Building, Parliament Road,” Makanda said.
