The European Union has made three recommendations to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) ahead of the 2027 elections.
IEBC officials led by the Commission's Chief Executive Officer Marjan Hussein on Tuesday, February 18, hosted the European Union delegation for an electoral follow-up mission in Kenya.
The mission’s purpose was to assess the Commission's electoral process that it deployed in the conduct of a successful 2022 General Election and propose areas of correction.
During the meeting, the foreign delegation recommended stringent measures to enhance women's participation in governance through upholding the two-third gender rule.
The EU mission led by Electoral Expert Dimitra Ioannou also called for improvements in election technology to enhance efficiency, reduce costs, and promote the security of the electoral results.
Further, the delegation also urged President William Ruto’s administration to provide the Commission with timely and adequate funding to aid IEBC in implementing continuous voter education ahead of the 2027 polls.
Speaking during the meeting, CEO Marjan expressed his gratitude for the support accorded to the Commission by the EU and acknowledged that the recommendations proposed will improve the electoral process.
Marjan also highlighted the Commission's progress in implementing the recommendations in its processes, including legal reforms on the two-third gender rule.
“The visit is part of the Commission's stakeholder engagement meetings ahead of the 2027 General Election. The discussion focused on the implementation of the recommendations and the gaps identified,” IEBC revealed.
The recommendations come against the back of the Commission's progress in choosing a viable chairperson. As of Monday, February 17, the selection panel responsible for the recruitment of nominees revealed that it had received over 1,800 applications.
Led by its chairperson, Nelson Makanda, the panel also disclosed that it had commenced the process of verification and will be issuing the long list comprising all the applicants soon.
"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.
