Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has shifted the blame for the delays in constituting the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to individuals who have taken legal action in court. Speaking at an interdenominational prayer service in Cheptais, Bungoma County, Mudavadi stated that President William Ruto should not be held accountable for the holdup in forming the electoral body.
Mudavadi made it clear that those who have filed cases in court should bear the responsibility for the delays. He emphasized that President Ruto’s administration is committed to following the law and that any accusations pointing to the President as the cause of the delay were misplaced. “People are talking and the things they are saying are not true. They are saying the President is the one behind the delays,” Mudavadi remarked, defending Ruto’s stance on the matter.
The Prime Cabinet Secretary also called for the withdrawal of the cases in court that have impeded the process of reconstituting the IEBC. He noted that these cases, filed by certain individuals, were not aligned with the intentions of the government and were, in fact, stalling the process. Mudavadi accused these individuals of using the court system to frustrate efforts to establish a fully functional electoral body.
This statement comes amid growing concerns about the state of the IEBC. In a related development, Faith Odhiambo, the President of the Law Society of Kenya, raised alarms on January 14, 2025, regarding the potential constitutional crisis resulting from the delays in reconstituting the IEBC. She warned that the country was at risk of breaching the Constitution, as the electoral body remains incomplete following the removal of four commissioners and the expiration of the term of the IEBC chair and two other commissioners in early 2023.
Odhiambo urged the Judiciary to take swift and decisive action to resolve the ongoing dispute surrounding the constitution of the electoral commission. She called for urgent efforts to fill the vacant positions and avert a potential democratic and constitutional crisis.
Mudavadi’s remarks echo a call from December 2024, where he similarly urged those who had gone to court to drop their cases, arguing that some political actors were exploiting the judicial system to further their personal agendas. As the situation persists, there is growing pressure for the relevant stakeholders, including the Judiciary, to resolve the stalemate and ensure the IEBC is reconstituted in accordance with the Constitution, ahead of future elections.
