Nairobi 20th January, 2012

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is working towards the demarcation of electoral boundaries and not administrative or other boundaries. The Commission's mandate, for example, does not include the delimitation of boundaries between counties; a request which has featured in the on-going countrywide public hearings on the First Review on delimitation of wards and constituencies.

The countrywide public hearings on the recently released report by IEBC, has drawn immense public interest. The hearings have generated mixed reactions with members of some counties approving the Commission’s proposal while others demand that they be allocated more constituencies and wards.

Speaking to members of Nakuru County yesterday, Eng. Abdulahi Sharawe, a Commissioner with IEBC, called for an understanding of the process. Mr. Sharawe said that "It has discretional procedures; it is not a matter of allocation of wards and constituencies. We have no new rules. We follow the law".

Panels comprising of Commissioners, experts on mapping and other senior personnel from the Commission will be listening to views from the public in Kwale County (Kwale Town Hall), Murang’a County (Murang’a County Council Hall), Uasin Gishu County (Eldoret Municipal Hall), Siaya County (Siaya Municipal Hall), Makueni County (Makueni County Council Hall), Kakamega County (Kakamega County Council Hall) and Baringo County (Kabarnet GTI).

The Commission is mandated by IEBC Act, 2010 to resolve the issues arising out of the First Review that was carried out by the now dissolved Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission (IIBRC). Essentially it will be looking at the "matters arising" from IIBRC’s report. IEBC is also required by law to use the IIBRC’s report as its primary source of materials and the Parliamentary Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs as the secondary source.

The constitution now provides for 290 constituencies, which means 80 more constituencies must be created from the 210 existing constituencies. The law gives a formula for the process which basically divides the total national census of 2009 by the 290 constituencies to arrive at the "population quota" or the recommended minimum population that can form a constituency. But for the purposes of the first review, more than 20 constituencies that did qualify the mathematical merits were “protected” so that all existing constituencies are retained. There were other special considerations which guided the considerations for cities and sparsely populated areas.

The exercise, which aims at building consensus on the First Review on boundaries for wards and constituencies, runs for 21 days from the date of the launch (9th January, 2012).