NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenya is headed into the 2027 General Election under outdated electoral boundaries after the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) admitted it cannot complete a review in time.
Appearing before the National Assembly’s Constitution Implementation Oversight Committee on Thursday, IEBC chairperson Erastus Ethekon said the delimitation process is both “complex and politically charged,” requiring at least two to three years to conclude.
“We need two to three years to conduct this technical and emotive issue,” Ethekon told MPs, warning that unless Parliament intervenes, the country could slip into a constitutional crisis.
The Constitution requires constituency and ward boundaries to be reviewed every eight to 12 years, with the exercise completed at least 12 months before a general election. The last review was carried out in 2012.
The minimum eight-year window lapsed in 2020, while the maximum 12-year deadline expired in March 2024.
But the IEBC was without commissioners for more than two years, making the timelines impossible to meet until the commission was reconstituted earlier this year.
To clarify its mandate, the IEBC sought an advisory opinion from the Supreme Court in July 2024 on whether it could conduct the review without commissioners and whether constitutional deadlines could be extended.
However, on September 5, 2025, the court struck out the request, ruling that only a fully constituted commission can seek such opinions.
“The court opined, among other things, that only a duly constituted commission, comprising the chairperson and other members, could bring the matter before the court for its determination,” IEBC legal affairs director Chrispine Owiye told the committee.
Ethekon said the commission will hold a meeting within a month and issue a final report on whether a review is still feasible before 2027.
In the meantime, he urged Parliament to consider legislative or constitutional amendments to resolve the stalemate.
Boundary reviews remain a flashpoint in Kenyan politics, as they determine the survival, merger, or splitting of electoral units, directly shaping representation and resource allocation.
During the last review in 2012, 27 constituencies that fell below the minimum population threshold were spared abolition after MPs blocked their removal.
