Former Farmers Party Leader Irungu Nyakera has warned that 27 constituencies in Kenya could be scrapped if the delayed boundary review process is not started soon, thus affecting the 2027 elections.
In a statement made on Tuesday, April 22, he warned that if the issue is not resolved soon, these constituencies might legally cease to exist. This would mean no Members of Parliament could be elected from them in the 2027 General Election.
“To avert an impending crisis, the IEBC should be immediately reconstituted and the NADCO legislative proposals enacted to either extend the timeline for boundary review or provide permanent protection for these constituencies. The Supreme Court should also give its advisory opinion and provide legal clarity,” he added.
He explained that these constituencies were created in 2010 under an exception because they did not meet the required population threshold in the Constitution.
“Many leaders have raised the alarm about the potential scrapping of 27 constituencies if the stalled boundary delimitation process does not commence. For background, these 27 constituencies were created in 2010 under a special exception because they didn’t meet the required population threshold under Article 89(6) of the Constitution,” Nyakera said.
According to the Constitution under Article 89(6), it states that the number of inhabitants of a constituency or ward may be greater or less than the population quota by a margin of not more than forty per cent for cities and sparsely populated areas and thirty per cent for the other areas.
He added that the Constitution only allowed these constituencies to exist temporarily, and the law required the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to carry out a boundary review by March 2024.
“The Constitution allowed them to exist temporarily on condition that the IEBC would conduct a boundary review by the latest March 2024,” he said.
Nyakera stated that the review did not take place because the IEBC was not fully formed. In response, the IEBC secretariat went to the Supreme Court in February 2024.
The IEBC secretariat asked the court for guidance on whether they could do the review without commissioners and outside the set timeline.
“When this didn’t happen owing to the lack of a fully constituted IEBC, the IEBC secretariat filed a case at the Supreme Court in February 2024 seeking an advisory opinion on whether it can carry out the review without commissioners and outside the constitutional timeline. The court's decision is still pending,” Nyakera explained.
According to Nyakera, among the 27 constituencies at risk are Bura, Galole, Lamu West, Lamu East, Mvita, Voi, Wundanyi, Mwatate, Mbeere North, Isiolo North, Isiolo South, Marakwet East and Keiyo North.
Keiyo South, Samburu East, Samburu North, Igembe North, Igembe Central, Igembe South, Kuria East, Kuria West, Teso North, Teso South, Turkana East, Turkana North, North Horr and Moyale are part of the constituencies listed.
