With the Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election just hours away, IEBC Commissioner Moses Mukhwana has appealed to Kenyans to judge the electoral commission by its current performance rather than mistakes made by previous teams, saying the new commissioners are working to restore confidence in the institution.
Speaking on NTV on Wednesday, Mukhwana said the current Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), which has been in office for about a year, has already overseen 32 by-elections. Of those, only two were challenged in court, and neither petition was successful.
He said the commission took office knowing it would inherit long-standing public concerns, but maintained that the current team should be given a fair chance to prove its credibility.
"I am going to one year since I joined the IEBC," Mukhwana said. "I was coming in with ideas, with experience, with my little expertise and the little reputation that I had... to continue the race from where my predecessors left."
He questioned why the current commissioners continue to face criticism over events that happened before they joined the electoral body.
"I'm only one year here. Whose vote have I stolen?" he asked. "We are paying for the sins of our fathers, not our own sins."
Mukhwana said the commission accepts that it has a duty to improve the country's electoral process, but argued that responsibility for election-related violence should not be placed entirely on the IEBC.
"We have conducted 32 elections since we came in. Of all those by-elections, two have been petitioned against. None has succeeded," he said.
According to the commissioner, the courts did not find the IEBC guilty of electoral malpractice in the petitions that were filed. Instead, he said, the main concern raised by petitioners was violence witnessed during the elections.
"The sticking issue in all these petitions is violence," he said, adding that some political leaders had unfairly blamed the commission for failing to prevent clashes during campaigns.
He explained that election security is handled through a multi-agency approach, with the National Police Service taking the lead while the IEBC concentrates on managing the electoral process.
"Our role is to conduct and supervise elections and referendums. The role of the police is to take care of the security of all elections," he said.
Mukhwana said the commission works alongside the National Police Service, the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC), the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and other agencies before, during and after elections to help ensure the process runs smoothly.
He said once the commission requests the necessary security deployment, its attention shifts to preparing for polling day by ensuring ballot papers are delivered on time, election officials are properly trained and the results accurately reflect the will of voters.
"We then focus on ensuring that the ballot papers arrive in time... that we have trained our officials in such a way that they are able to execute their functions professionally, efficiently, effectively and above all within the law," he said.
Mukhwana also clarified that the commission can only enforce the Electoral Code of Conduct during the official election period.
"What you are now seeing us doing... we could not have dealt with them before the by-election was announced because we do not have the power under the law," he said, adding that the commission's enforcement powers end once successful candidates are sworn into office.
His remarks come a day before the July 16 Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election in Nyandarua County, with the IEBC saying all preparations have been completed and urging voters to comply with electoral laws.
More than 1,000 police officers, including specialised units, have been deployed to provide security at all 114 polling stations following incidents of campaign-related violence reported in recent weeks.