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Former Head of Government Delivery Services Peter Mbae has voiced serious concerns about efforts to delay the reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), a move he fears could threaten the timely holding of the 2027 general elections.In a live interview on Thursday, April 3, 2025, Mbae expressed his worries that obstacles are being deliberately placed in the ongoing process, which is currently focused on interviewing candidates for the IEBC commissioner positions.The selection panel began the interview process for the chairperson and commissioners on March 24, 2025, and is now reviewing a shortlist of candidates to fill the vacant chairperson position and six commissioner slots.
However, Mbae believes that the process is being intentionally delayed, raising questions about the motivations behind these setbacks.“The law states that if we don’t have an IEBC by August, we will face a major constitutional crisis. The IEBC must be in place two years before the elections.
And remember, as we speak, there is already a bill in the Senate proposing the extension of term limits for elected leaders,” Mbae explained, highlighting the urgency of having the commission in place well before the 2027 elections.Mbae further speculated that creating roadblocks in the IEBC reconstitution process might be a strategy to delay the elections. He is concerned that preventing the commission from being fully established could disenfranchise millions of voters, particularly the six million Gen Z voters, leading to chaos during the election.
“If you play this and this together, could there be a plot by the system to extend this election by putting some roadblock on the constitution of IEBC, so that it’s not there and the six million Gen Zs voters do not vote and there is a whole issue about that? That is the fear that people have,” Mbae said.Mbae, who resigned from his role as the Head of Service Delivery Unit within the Kenya Kwanza government, also criticized the shortlisting process for the IEBC roles, calling out what he sees as a deliberate disregard for the law. Specifically, he raised concerns about the inclusion of public sector employees in the shortlist, arguing that their presence could undermine public trust in the entire process.
“This is what people are thinking. Certain individuals have been deliberately included in contravention of the law, making it easier for Kenyans to challenge the process in court and delay it,” Mbae stated.He also recalled how the selection panel had spent over a year embroiled in court battles, adding that instead of following the proper procedures from the start, they included questionable individuals in the process.
“The law is clear—state officers should not hold these positions. Once people have questions about the trust-ability of this process, it will be difficult to make them subject to the process,” Mbae added.The post Ex-Govt Official Peter Mbae Raises Alarm Over Deliberate Plot to Postpone 2027 Elections appeared first on Nairobi Wire.
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