Nairobi 22^ndFebruary, 2012

A delegation from the South Sudan Law society (SSLS), which is on a study tour to Kenya on the constitution making process, has made a courtesy call on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, IEBC. The IEBC Chairman, Mr. Ahmed Hassan briefed the visiting delegation on various issues among them the challenges and accomplishments the polls body has encountered in the realization of its mandate.
The delegation from South Sudan said that they were keen to draw lessons from the Kenya’s experiences on electoral and legal reforms, especially on the Referendum which gave birth to Kenya’s new constitution. The delegation said they were looking forward to work closely with the Commission, the Civil Society and governmental institutions in Kenya so as to learn from their expertise.
The IEBC Chairman was accompanied by the Chief Electoral Officer, Mr. O.J H Oswago, the vice chairperson, Mrs. Lilian Mahiri-Zaja and commissioner Mrs. Muthoni Wangai.

Nairobi 16th February, 2012

Mr. Eric Mutua has been elected the Chairman of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) in a poll conducted by IEBC in 25 polling stations (High Courts) countrywide. Ms Lilian Rene Omondi was elected Vice-Chair person. Those elected as Council members were: Waigwa Faith Waguthi, Sijeny Judith Ochieng, Mwamu James Aggrey, Weda Ambrose Otieno, Gichuhi Waiyaki, Angote G Nyausi and Kanjama Charles Njiru. Those elected as members of the Disciplinary Committee are: Kinyanjui Gladys Wamaitha, Siganga Beauttah and Onguta Joseph Omondi.
IEBC has in the past held elections for other organizations among them, the African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa Archbishops Elections (AIPCA) in May 2011 and the Kenya National Football Elections 29th October 2011. Full results

The IEBC has advertised for a biometric voter registration solution (BVR) and the artistic creation of poster for voter education. While the BVR solution, which includes kits, is intended for both local and international bidding, the six categories of posters is a competition and targets local graphics designers and artists. The dead line for BVR tender is 28th February, 2012 while the poster competition closes on 9th March, 2012.
Details of the BVR solution and Poster Competition are posted on this website.

Nairobi 9th February, 2012

The IEBC Chairman has called on the two coalition principals, President Kibaki and Prime Minister Odinga to announce when they will dissolve the coalition so as to give certainty to the election date. He said the suspense was creating unnecessary suspense and anxiety in the country. "It is necessary for the two to declare the election date early so that preparations for the polls could start in earnest", added the Chairman.
The IEBC Chairman made the remarks after he and Commissioners submitted the revised preliminary report on the proposed boundaries for constituencies and wards to the Parliamentary Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs (CPCJLA). The report factors public views, both verbal and written, that were presented to the Commission during the 21 days it held public forums countrywide and ended on 30th January 2012.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in partnership with Electoral Reforms International Services (ERIS) has organized a training workshop to train Constituency Election Coordinators (CEC) who will in turn train other election coordinators in different regions on matters of dialogue, mediation and facilitation.
The training workshop which runs 6th-9th February is the second one the first having been held late last year and aims to enhance the skills of Regional and Constituency Election Coordinators in preventing election-related conflicts.

The workshop also hopes to assist the Regional and Constituency Election Coordinators in planning and coordinating efforts towards preventing election-related conflicts. IEBC is working on modalities of taming electoral related violence by training representatives on how to mitigate conflict and “cut the tree by the roots”.