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Kenya: Koome Cautions IEBC Against Repeating 2017 Mistakes

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Nairobi — Chief Justice Martha Koome has expressed optimism that the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has learnt from mistakes that led to nullification of the 2017 presidential election.

“Our expectation is that the IEBC is consciously working to ensure its processes meet the demands of the principles of our electoral system as elaborated in Articles 81 and 86 of the Constitution,” Koome told news editors at a breakfast meeting in Nairobi on Thursday.

She pointed out that in its ruling on the first presidential election petition of 2017, the Supreme Court was clear that IEBC erred in certain respects making the election unverifiable.

“The Supreme Court did not find any evidence of misconduct by the candidates but instead saw in evidence, a systemic institutional problem,” she said.

“The Court specified that IEBC while discharging its constitutional mandate must always conform with the Constitution and electoral law by ensuring that all requisite processes are simple, accurate, verifiable, secure, accountable and transparent,” the President of the Supreme Court, the country’s highest court with original and exclusive jurisdiction on presidential petitions, added.

Koome further urged the Wafula Chebukati-led commission to work closely with stakeholders in a bid to resolve all emerging concerns including the question of the integrity of the voters roll following reports of arbitrary transfer of voters.

She added that it is crucial that the electoral agency works to “consolidate the