Could the 2027 General Election face a legal hurdle over constituency and ward boundaries? A petitioner has moved to the High Court seeking to stop the IEBC from conducting elections until it completes a long-overdue review of electoral boundaries.
Lawyer Philip Kipkemoi Langat, through his counsel Felix Keaton, is challenging the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission over what he says is a failure to comply with Article 89 of the Constitution.
Speaking to the media outside the Milimani Law Courts, Keaton explained the basis of the petition, maintaining that the constitutional timelines for reviewing constituency and ward boundaries have already lapsed.
Langat argues that the review was due between March 2020 and March 2024, following the last delimitation exercise conducted in 2012.
He wants the High Court to compel the IEBC to review the number, names and boundaries of constituencies and wards before the 2027 General Election.
The petitioner is also asking the court to stop the Commission from conducting or supervising elections and referenda until the constitutional review is undertaken.
The argument is that population growth and changes in geographical areas, communication networks, community interests and cultural ties have changed the circumstances under which the existing boundaries were drawn.
Keaton’s appearance outside court comes as the petition places the constitutional requirement for boundary review at the centre of the preparations for the 2027 polls.
Article 89 of the Constitution requires the IEBC to review constituency boundaries periodically, taking into account factors including population, geographical features, community interests and means of communication.
The Constitution also sets out population quotas and requires the review to be completed within the prescribed timelines.
The last major delimitation exercise was conducted in 2012.
The dispute comes amid questions over whether a fresh boundary review can be completed before the 2027 General Election.
The IEBC has previously cited legal, institutional and population-data challenges in undertaking the exercise.
The Commission has also opposed the petition, arguing that there are legal and practical hurdles to conducting the review ahead of the 2027 polls.
The petition now puts the IEBC’s preparations for the 2027 election under the scrutiny of the High Court.
The court will determine whether the Commission must first undertake the constitutional boundary review before the next General Election.
