The Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission (IEBC) Chairperson Wafula Chebukati has completed his final duty as he prepares to retire after six years in office.
Chebukati shared the gains and challenges he has seen in his 6-year tenure while releasing the post-election evaluation report for the August 9, 2022 polls.
The IEBC chairman, whose term ends on January 17, said his team has set a good example for their successors and wished them well.
“I exit a very contented man, and I say we gave it our best. We chatted and weathered the storms that threatened the existence of the commission, we endured relentless fatigue in our preparation for election. We mastered high courage to overcome perils of democracy and we delivered the sacred will of the people of Kenya,” he said.
Furthermore, the outgoing chairman stated that the results of the contentious presidential election in 2022 reflected the will of the people.
“We have met our fair share of contributions towards strengthening democracy in Kenya. We hold that the August 2022 election – whose presidential results were upheld by the Supreme Court were free fair, credible, transparent and impartial,” he said.
Chebukati cited the highly competitive election coupled with high ethnic profiling as one of the most difficult challenges he faced as an election manager.
“The 2022 general election witnessed the highest attempt to undermine the independence of the commission. One of the biggest threats to the commission is misinformation and disinformation. False accusations have the potential to create violence,” he said.
To avoid such possibilities during election cycles, Chebukati says the commission wrote to the President, requesting a public inquiry into the process leading to the declaration of the final results at the Bomas of Kenya.
Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu are the other IEBC commissioners whose terms are coming to an end.
