AIDE MEMOIR BY THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF CHURCHES OF KENYA DURING THE MEETING WITH THE INDEPENDENT ELECTORAL AND BOUNDARIES COMMISSION (IEBC) ON JULY 8, 2026 WITH REGARD TO THE 2027 ELECTORAL CYCLE
Chairperson of the IEBC, Erastus Edung Ethekon, HSC, Vice Chairperson Fahima Araphat Abdallah, OGW, and Commissioners Ann Njeri Nderitu, CBS, Moses Alutalala Mukhwana, Mary Karen Sorobit, Hassan Noor Hassan, EBS, Prof. Francis Odhiambo Aduol,
We are very honoured to have this consultation with you just a few days to your first anniversary in office. We are confident that you have learnt the job and have a good comprehension of the sacred mandate you bear on your shoulders. For sure the task of nursing the heart of Kenya’s democracy is not easy, but we are sure that you can do it as you depend on the assurance we have in Philippians 4: 13
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
It is our constant prayer that God will grant you the wisdom, courage and strength to faithfully execute the mandate of the Commission for the betterment of the nation.
- Mandate of the IEBC
Honourable Chairman,
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission was established under Article 88 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010 to be a credible, dependable and non-partisan vanguard of Kenya’s democracy by midwifing elections. The IEBC is therefore the only electoral management body in Kenya responsible for:
- Voter registration and management of the voter register
- Conducting elections and referenda including the related candidate nominations and registrations
- Delimiting boundaries of constituencies and wards
- Voter education
- Facilitating elections observation, monitoring and evaluation
- Regulation of campaign spending by candidates and parties
- Enforcing compliance with electoral laws
Appreciating that Kenya is a constitutional multi-party democracy, elections are the only route through which individuals can assume political leadership in line with the Constitution. The work done by the IEBC is therefore very critical to the nation. It is our continual prayer that you will constantly remember that the aspirations of 55 million Kenyans for well moderated political leadership processes are in your hands.
2. Challenge of Incumbency Elections
Honourable Chairman,
We appreciate that last month, the IEBC kicked off the 2027 electoral cycle by officially setting August 10, 2027 as the date for Kenya’s 14th General Elections. We have a mere 13 months to prepare.
What stands out as a major concern for us is that the 2027 polls are incumbency elections in which a sitting President is seeking re-election. Traditionally, incumbency elections in Kenya have been marked by intense polarisation, heavy electioneering, and violence before, during and after the polls, as was the case in 1992, 1997, 2007 and 2017. Indeed, these were most difficult seasons for the IEBC and the predecessors, sometimes with devastating outcomes for the Commissioners. Will this trend hold in 2027 and we end up with brutally violent elections in which Kenyans are disenfranchised and the characters of the IEBC Commissioners marred forever? Can we as a nation not prepare for peace and genuine democratic outcomes by hearing the warning God gave in 1 Kings 20: 22?
Afterward, the prophet came to the king of Israel and said, “Strengthen your position and see what must be done, because next spring the king of Aram will attack you again”.
We know the danger ahead, and so we must not repeat the mistakes and misdeeds of the past if we want a better future for our nation.
3. Study on the Influence of Money and Religion on Democratic Outcomes in Kenya
Honourable Chairman,
Recognizing the need to address the real and perceived drivers of electoral challenges in our nation, the NCCK carried out a study and launched a report titled Study on the Influence of Money and Religion on Democratic Outcomes in Kenya.
From the study, we found that the money, religion, coercion and violence are weakening Kenya’s democratic outcomes by distorting citizen choices and public accountability. Quite notably, and what should be a major concern for the Commission, money was presented as the dominant driver of politics, determining who can run, who gets to win, and whose interests are served after the elections. Campaigns are therefore treated as investments that are to be recouped after the elections, driving high stakes in the polls. This has led to adoption of coercive practices that include voter bribery, intimidation, mobilization of goons, misuse of state and security machinery, and capture of state institutions to undermine free participation. On their part, religious institutions were found to be highly trusted and potentially influential to deliver civic engagement and moral guidance. However, religious institutions are increasingly vulnerable to politicized donations, pulpit capture and apparent partisanship.
Overall, Honourable Chairman, the place of money in elections is the core driver of the electoral challenges Kenya has experienced over the decades. We aver with the study findings that campaign financing, institutional independence and information integrity must be strengthened if we are to avoid a situation where the 2027 elections cycle deepens polarization, violence, mistrust and democratic decline.
We are pleased to share with you a copy of the Report, along with the related publications that include a popular version of the report, Sermon Guides on the issues raised in the report, and Guidelines for Ministering to Political Actors.
4. Gaps and Concerns on the 2027 Electoral Cycle
Honourable Chairman,
The 2027 electoral cycle is well underway, and the IEBC has already given the core timelines for the same. We therefore in this context share the following gaps and concerns for your consideration so as to deliver to Kenyans free, fair, transparent, impartial, efficient, accurate and accountable secret ballot elections that are free from violence, intimidation, improper influence or corruption, in line with Article 81 (e) of the Constitution.
a) Campaign Financing and Monetization of Politics
In the words of more than 90% of the respondents in the study we conducted, money is the dominant force shaping Kenya’s elections. Political campaigns are expensive investments funded by wealthy individuals, businesses and informal financiers who then extract returns after the polls. It is no wonder then that for a decade and a half, political leaders have resisted and hindered the implementation of the Election Campaigns Financing Act over the last 13 years.
The downside of this monetization of elections is that aspirants who do not have money of their own or strong financiers are excluded, and Kenyans generally believe that it is money, not ballots, that determine who gets to win. This narrative, Honourable Chair, persistently paints the IEBC as an institution that allows the highest bidders to win.
We appreciate that in the communications your team has made since you assumed office, you have committed to enforce Campaigns Financing rules. The development of the Election Campaign Financing Regulations 2026 and the Determination of the Election Campaign Finance Spending Limits for 2027 General Election are a great step forward.
However, Honourable Chairman, we are deeply concerned that despite making the documents available on the IEBC website, a formal public participation process has not been instituted. This is exposing the nation to a repeat situation where the Regulations will be annulled by the courts if they do not abide by the terms of the High Court ruling of May 5, 2022.
We strongly recommend that the regulations are urgently subjected to nationwide public participation and the process be completed before August 10, 2026. On our part, we commit to mobilize the congregants in our churches to actively participate in that process. Let us purposely make the ballot, not the money, the determiner of our elections.
b) Voter Bribery and Economic Coercion
Honourable Chairman,
It is very troubling for Kenyans that before and during elections, political actors carry out voter bribery and economic coercion with absolute impunity. In the by-elections that your team has conducted, multiple individuals have been documented, even on national television, dishing out money to public members with no action taken against them. There is even a political leader in Ol Kalau captured announcing the amount of money they were given to distribute and confirming they are taking away the Identity Cards of those who receive the tokens. When will the IEBC take action against such individuals and their political parties for these elections offences?
We do indeed live in a country where the people are deliberately kept poor so that they are vulnerable to monetary manipulation during elections. Will the IEBC this time rise up to protect Kenyans from this injustice?
c) Misuse of Public Resources and State Machinery (Incumbency Advantage)
Honourable Chairman, the Elections Offences Act prohibits the use of public resources for campaigns, and bars public officers from participation in elections. National security organs are on their part required to act in non-partisan ways. Why does the IEBC seemingly turn a blind eye to the employment of incumbency advantage across the country? Until when will the police and the National Government Administration Officers be used to disrupt electoral processes of those considered to be opponents of the government of the day?
We strongly recommend that you consider issuing binding public resources and public officers elections protocols under which individuals will be held personally liable for breaches. The Commission should also consider having a unit that will collate evidence to facilitate prosecution of offenders for there to be a visible deterrent. We confirm our support and participation should the IEBC chose to establish county and national level repositories to document engagement by public officers in political and electoral activities.
d) Goonism and Electoral Violence
Goonism, which has emerged as a major threat to peace and cohesion in the country, is regrettably not a new phenomenon in the country. At different times, governments of the day and political parties have been accused of organizing and deploying youth groups to carry out activities that the Police or branded party supporters would not carry out. Such activities include disrupting meetings of opponents, intimidating voters, and causing general mayhem. State sponsored goonism is often characterized by scenes where such goons get recorded on camera being escorted by police. In previous incumbency elections, such are the groups that have been used to cause violence.
At the community level, the core trajectory is that after elections, these groups turn into criminal outfits as they face challenges re-integrating into the community. Many have been systematically killed by police during security operations.
We recommend that the IEBC establishes multi-sectoral electoral violence earl warning-rapid action teams at all levels. The teams wound diffuse mobilisation of gangs, identify and document the financiers, and organize community peace structures to intervene in instances of violence. We in the NCCK will actively participate in such peace structures.
e) Institutional Capture and Weak Public Confidence in Oversight Bodies
A persistent point of concern for us, Honourable Chairman, is that in different opinion polls, only 26% of Kenyans expressed confidence that the IEBC can deliver free, fair and credible elections. Further, 60% cited lack of transparency in within the Commission. This state of affairs as a key frustration for Kenyans who created the IEBC and other independent commissions in the Constitution of Kenya 2010 to safeguard the rights, freedoms and peace of the nation.
We appeal to you, Honourable Chairman, to work to present the IEBC as a visibly independent and competent elections manager. It is of absolute importance that the IEBC takes action against all political actors who commit electoral offences, whether they support the government or the opposition.
On our part, we are ready to partner with the IEBC in any multisectoral elections consultative platforms that are established.
f) Weak Oversight of Party Nominations
Over the years, political party nominations have been opaque, unfair and largely driven by elite interests rather than voter preferences. The uncontrolled financing and unaudited spending has created an impenetrable barrier for the youth, women, persons with disabilities and marginalized persons from electoral and governance processes. This denies Kenyans their constitutional right to free, fair and credible elections based on universal suffrage.
We recommend that the IEBC strengthens party nomination oversight by requiring political parties to publish and adhere to nomination rules, fast tracking nomination disputes, and punishing parties or candidates who violate the nomination rules.
g) Delays in Essential Electoral Reforms
Honourable Chair,
The past elections were affected essential legislative and policy reforms that would be effected too close to the polls to be of effect. For this reason, we appreciate during your engagement with the Senate in June 2025, you iterated the different laws and policies that are required ahead of the 2027 General Elections. However, we are deeply concerned that not much progress has been recorded on this area of reforms. Among the seemingly stalled reforms, we highlight the following:
- Political Parties (Amendment) (No 2) Bill 2024, which replaces the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties with the Independent Political Parties Regulatory Commission, was passed by the Senate but pending at the National Assembly
- Elections (Amendment)(No 2) Bill 2024, which is seeking to improve voter management, was passed by the Senate but pending at the National Assembly
- Election Offences (Amendment) (No 2) Bill 2024, which expands offences and penalties targeting election officials, is stuck at mediation stage
- County Governments Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2024, which is to bring clarity on nomination of marginalized groups representatives, was passed by Senate but pending at National Assembly
- Referendum Bill, 2026, which is to create a legal framework for conducting referenda, is pending at the Senate
- Election Campaign Financing (Amendment) Fill, 2024, which was mentioned in the EIBC report to Senate but is yet to get into the Parliamentary Bills Tracker
Further to these, we have noted the pending public participation and finalization of the Election Campaign Financing Regulations 2026.
We strongly recommend that your team, Honourable Chairman, does all that is humanly possible to have these reforms finalized at the earliest for a better electoral framework for the nation. On our part, we are ready to support and participate in all the reform processes as opportunities will be accorded.
5. Election Rigging Claims
Honourable Chairman,
One of the most troubling developments is the blatant, brazen and carefree manner in which known supporters of the ruling party have publicly declared that they will rig the 2027 elections in favour of the President. We took note of the statement issued by the Commission on May 26 this year in which you asserted the IEBC is not weak, compromised or susceptible to external influence.
We are nonetheless perturbed by the failure to take action on the said individuals who were recorded making these assertions publicly. Whereas the statement by the Commission accurately indicated that the offences could not be punished through the Elections Offences Act, the IEBC had the option of filing a case to require the Director of Public Prosecutions to order investigations to establish whether there was evidence of an actual plan, conspiracy or unlawful influence or just political bravado. The IEBC did not even ask the political parties to which the individuals belong to confirm or disown the claims. This silence and seeming subservience of the IEBC to these claims is giving credence to fears by Kenyans that there are plans for the 2027 elections to be manipulated.
We encourage you, Honourable Chairman, to valiantly defend the public image of the Commission, or else the citizens will denounce and denigrate the work of the Commission leading to rejection of the results of the 2027 General Elections.
6. Our Commitment
On our part, Honourable Chairman, we assure you of our commitment to continue working for free, fair, credible and peaceful elections, recognizing these as the core foundation of our multiparty democracy. We will continue to pray for you and actively mobilize the congregants and communities in our member church areas to participate fully in the electoral and governance processes of the nation.
7. Conclusion
In conclusion, we commend you Honourable Chairman and Commissioners on your appointment to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission and for work you have in the last 12 months. We encourage you to carry out the mandate of the Commission without fear or favour, always being assured that you have our prayers and support.
May the instructions on safekeeping of other people’s properties that is given in Exodus 22: 7 – 9 always inspire you to faithful conduct always:
If a man gives his neighbour silver or goods for safekeeping and they are stolen from the neighbour’s house, the thief, if he is caught, must pay back double. But if the thief is not found, the owner of the house must appear before the judges to determine whether he has laid his hands on the other man’s property.
Dear Chairman, Commissioners, you have been entrusted by Kenyans to safeguard our democracy. Will you allow some thieves to steal it?
May God continually strengthen you so that you stand for the constitutional and legal electoral rights of the people of Kenya.
Once again, Honourable Chairman, we thank you for the opportunity to meet with you.
May God bless you now and always
Signed on this 8th day of July 2026
Rev Dr Elias Otieno Agola
CHAIRMAN
Rev Canon Chris Kinyanjui
GENERAL SECRETARY
