The Law Society of Kenya has told the new Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission that restoring public confidence in elections must be its top priority, warning that the country risks heading into another disputed contest unless urgent reforms are rolled out.

LSK President Faith Odhiambo on Tuesday night said the Commission must begin working immediately to deliver a clear election roadmap, enforce the law, and demonstrate accountability in order to win over a public that has become increasingly disillusioned with the electoral process.

“I would say that they have a hard task ahead of them. I would say whatever rhetoric has been made against them, on their personal capacity, on the cases, now that they are the commissioners sitting, we should focus on, how do we hold them accountable, and the work that they have ahead of them?” she said during an interview on Citizen TV.

She added that a key part of their job will be to rebuild the confidence of young Kenyans, who she said have grown sceptical of whether the system can deliver fair and credible results.

“I believe that they have a huge duty in terms of restoring confidence in the members of the public, and even on our Gen Zs, that the system actually works and that they can ensure that they deliver to Kenyans a free, fair and credible election.

That should be on top of their list.”

Odhiambo noted that time is already running out and IEBC has just two years to prepare, warning that without a clear and detailed election management plan, the country could face major logistical and legal challenges.

“They only have two years. They must create a road mark in terms of the election management plan. How will they roll out and what do they intend to do,” she said.

She flagged the long-pending issue of boundaries review as one that needs urgent direction, noting that the Commission must either go to court or communicate whether it intends to proceed or defer the exercise.

“We now have, it’s 13 years post the last election boundaries delineation. Yes. They must be able to determine and decide: are they going to court to ask whether they can proceed with the same, or they will not be doing it, given the short timelines that are there?”

Odhiambo welcomed the announcement by the Commission that it would introduce electoral bills but cautioned that the process must be deliberate and address real gaps that have repeatedly affected past elections.

“There is the campaign financing legislation that needs implementation and review. Then comes the heavier question of voter registration, there’s a lot of apprehension around it in terms of which votes in which areas post the last census that was done. And then we have civic education that I think IEBC has largely abdicated on, and which will play a very huge role in terms of ensuring that we have more voters who understand their rights in this new period,” she said.

She pointed out that every general election since 2013 has ended in the Supreme Court, and reminded IEBC to draw lessons from past rulings to avoid legal pitfalls and contested outcomes in 2027.

“There are proposals on a lot of amendments that need to be done under the Electoral Act, and also in terms of IEBC and the Supreme Court raising concerns about the time periods for hearing and determining electoral disputes, which has yet to be dealt with to date,” Odhiambo noted.

She said preparing for a credible election is not the Commission’s job alone and asked other institutions to play their part, including through timely reforms, resources and political goodwill.

“Someone can say two years, but two years is a very short period to just set up the whole machinery. I think it also behoves upon the Judiciary, Parliament, Executive, the independent offices and security agencies to also, you know, stand up and show up in terms of being able to support,” she said.

Odhiambo called on Parliament to allocate enough funds without delay, saying time is already tight and the IEBC cannot afford financial uncertainty.

“We need Parliament giving them the adequate budget, because the time constraints are already short. I don’t know if that was budgeted already in this year’s budget, or it will be part of a supplementary budget. But those should be top priorities,” she said.

She also criticised the growing focus on constitutional amendments at the expense of strengthening the integrity of the electoral process.

“We’re seeing a lot more proposals to the Constitution rather than looking at how can we ensure that we deliver a credible electoral process to the people of Kenya,” she said.