NAIROBI, Kenya- Kirinyaga Woman Representative Njeri Maina has criticized Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairperson Erastus Ethekon over his remarks that the commission cannot conduct elections in an environment marked by violence, incitement and political instability.
In a strongly worded statement, Maina accused the IEBC chair of attempting to create grounds for postponing the 2027 General Election, insisting that the Constitution does not allow elected leaders to remain in office beyond their stipulated terms.
“If the chairperson of IEBC is a petulant child, he can quit. He can’t keep threatening not to conduct elections,” Maina said.
The lawmaker argued that any move to delay elections would amount to undermining the will of the Kenyan people.
“That would be a clear subversion of the will of the people and no one would have the power to constitutionally hold office beyond the five-year stipulated timelines,” she stated.
Maina challenged Ethekon to resign if he was unwilling to preside over the next General Election.
“Wewe Ethekon you can step down bwana! You people think Kenyans are idiots? We all know you are testing waters to postpone the elections next year. Do not test the patience and resolve of the Kenyan people,” she said.
She further maintained that no individual is indispensable to the electoral commission.
“If anything, you are not the only human being on earth who can chair the IEBC. Matter of fact, you are not the first nor will you be the last,” she added.
Maina’s remarks came in response to comments by Ethekon, who stressed that the electoral commission requires a peaceful environment to deliver credible elections.
“I would like to state clearly that IEBC cannot hold elections in a toxic environment. IEBC cannot hold elections in an environment that’s full of incitement, division, violence, chaos and anarchy,” Ethekon said.
The IEBC chair’s statement has triggered political debate, with some leaders interpreting it as a call for restraint in political discourse, while others have questioned whether it could be construed as suggesting the possibility of delaying the polls.
Kenya’s Constitution provides that general elections are to be held at fixed intervals, while the IEBC is constitutionally mandated to conduct free, fair and credible elections.
