A petition has been filed at the High Court to stop all preparations the Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is undertaking in preparation for the 2027 General Elections.
The petitioner, Bernard Mwanzia, who presented the petition on Wednesday, October 29, alleged that there are constitutional defects in the electoral and governance system in place.
Mwanzia has requested the court to order conservatory orders in a way that officials and staff of IEBC do not make preparations until it makes headway.
He alleged that unless curbed forthwith, the commission will continue spending public funds unnecessarily on the process, one day to be found to be unconstitutional.
“The convenience balance tips in favor of adjourning preparations until the petition is heard and decided, in a bid to safeguard the sovereignty of the people under Article 1 of the Constitution,” reads the section of the petition.
The petition is being filed while the commission is undertaking the Continuous Voter Registration (CVR), prior to the much-anticipated general elections.
In a statement released on Monday, September 15, IEBC said it plans to register 6.3 million new voters before the election, bringing the total number of voters to 28 million.
Two weeks into the exercise, however, the commission said voter registration across the country had been slow, especially among the youth.
Up to October 11, IEBC indicated that 20,754 voters had registered nationally, while an additional 3,207 changed their polling station and 61 also changed their details.
IEBC invited all registered citizens, the target youth who had just obtained their IDs, to visit their local constituency office and register.
“Even as we mark this milestone, turnout among the target youth is still below projected levels,” IEBC stated.
“Planning a target of 6.3 million new voters nationwide, the Commission invites all qualifying Kenyans, but particularly the youth, to take this chance to register and have their say in the 2027 General Election,” it added.
