The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has warned that the July 16 Ol Kalou parliamentary by-election could be postponed or even cancelled if escalating violence, voter bribery and other electoral offences continue to threaten the credibility and security of the poll.
The commission said it is closely monitoring the situation after receiving numerous complaints of election-related malpractice, with investigators already deployed to establish the facts and recommend action against anyone found to have violated the Electoral Code of Conduct.
Speaking during the launch of the commission's 2022 pre-election dispute resolution publications, IEBC Chairperson Erastus Ethekon said the commission had received disturbing reports of violence, voter intimidation, destruction of campaign materials, misinformation, voter bribery and the alleged mobilisation of gangs and firearms in the constituency ahead of the by-election.
The warning comes after a section of political leaders accused their rivals of engaging in widespread voter bribery and other illegal activities as campaigns intensify before the July 16 vote.
Ethekon said the commission was particularly concerned by reports that while the constituency remains calm during the day, violence erupts at night.
"Daytime, the place is peaceful. At night, madness descends, and the political parties and their supporters engage in running battles, defacing each other's campaign posters and materials, engaging in physical confrontations and fights," he said.
He said one person lost their life following one of the confrontations on July 1, describing the incident as "very sad and unfortunate."
The IEBC chair also expressed concern over what he described as widespread allegations of voter bribery, saying the commission had also received reports that some leaders were misleading voters by claiming they would not need national identity cards to cast their ballots.
"We have also had allegations of bribery. The scale of bribery is massive," Ethekon said.
"We have also been informed of the presence of guns or mobilisation of gangs in Ol Kalou, and this therefore will threaten the security of the people of Ol Kalou and the election in general."
He said the commission had activated its investigative team to verify the allegations before taking legal action against those found responsible.
"We will be very firm in enforcing the Code of Conduct... and when we find any culpability or any breaches of the code of conduct, the proper remedies shall apply, up to and including disqualifying some of those candidates," he warned.
Ethekon said the commission would not hesitate to postpone the by-election if the security situation worsened and made it impossible to conduct a free and fair election.
"If we find that the environment is not conducive enough for us to conclude the by-election in Ol Kalou, we will be left with no choice other than to take the unfortunate and drastic step of postponing the elections... and if that is not enough, we will cancel it altogether."
He noted that the commission had already spent more than Sh30 million preparing for the exercise, with ballot papers already delivered and election materials deployed.
The IEBC chair also appealed to the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions to investigate claims of voter bribery and other election offences so that those responsible can be prosecuted.
"We need to restore sanity in our electoral processes as we move towards 2027," he said, warning that the incidents being witnessed in Ol Kalou could be a precursor to wider challenges during the next General Election.