Former Attorney General and National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has raised concerns over the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC) newly launched Election Operations Plan (EOP) 2025–2027, questioning the level of stakeholder engagement undertaken before its rollout.
The IEBC unveiled the Election Operations Plan on Wednesday, June 24, 2026, as part of preparations for the 2027 General Election.
In a statement, Muturi argued that it was troubling for the electoral commission to launch such a critical document without demonstrating meaningful consultation with key stakeholders across Kenya’s democratic space.
“An Elections Operations Plan is not an internal administrative document. It is a national covenant between the electoral management body and the Kenyan people,” Muturi said.
He noted that the plan would determine how elections are conducted, how disputes are managed, how technology is deployed, how voters are verified and how election results are transmitted.
“Such a document cannot be developed in isolation and then presented to Kenyans as a finished product,” he added.
Muturi said the move had raised serious concerns, arguing that public confidence in elections cannot be built through secrecy or exclusion.
“Credibility is not achieved through exclusion. Trust is not earned by informing stakeholders after decisions have already been made. The IEBC must understand that legitimacy comes from participation, consultation and ensuring every stakeholder feels heard and respected in the planning process,” he stated.
The former Speaker also dismissed any suggestion that stakeholder consultations may have been limited due to financial constraints.
“We reject any suggestion that stakeholder consultations were not conducted because of financial constraints. That explanation is neither convincing nor responsible,” he said.
According to Muturi, the cost of conducting consultations is insignificant compared to the financial and political consequences of disputed elections, including litigation, instability and declining public confidence in democratic institutions.
Beyond the Election Operations Plan, Muturi raised concerns over the integrity of the country’s voter register, insisting that any audit of the register must be preceded by an independent audit of the Integrated Population Registration Database (IPRD).
“We cannot continue discussing voter register audits while ignoring the integrity of the source population database. The principle is straightforward: garbage in, garbage out,” he said.
He argued that any irregularities in the population database would inevitably affect the voter register, making it impossible to guarantee credible elections.
Muturi further called for transparency in the audit process, saying political parties, civil society organizations, religious groups, professional bodies and election experts should be allowed to observe and verify the exercise.
“Democracy requires verification, not blind trust,” he said.
The former Attorney General also questioned the increasing reliance on election technology without corresponding transparency and accountability.
He called for full disclosure of election technology systems, independent audits and strict oversight of vendors contracted by the electoral commission.
“There can be no secret servers, no hidden systems, no untouchable vendors and no black boxes in a democratic election,” Muturi said.
On results transmission, he urged the IEBC to adopt stronger safeguards, including independent security audits, end-to-end encryption, immutable audit trails and full disclosure of system logs whenever disputes arise.
He also proposed the introduction of unique security features on constituency results forms to strengthen authentication and reduce the risk of manipulation.
The IEBC has already set August 10, 2027, as the date for Kenya’s next General Election, with preparations expected to intensify over the coming months.
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