With ten months to the 2027 General Election, the electoral commission is grappling with a leadership vacuum, mass transfers, unexplained staff exits, disputed promotions and an increasingly demoralised secretariat. As the country debates the livestreaming of presidential results, a more fundamental question looms: Can an institution struggling to manage itself deliver a credible election?

Kenya could be heading into a major electoral crisis, with just ten months to the August 10, 2027 General Election, as uncertainty over the leadership and staffing of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) threatens to undermine its preparedness for the polls.

Investigations by this publication have established that the commission is grappling with a leadership vacuum, persistent staff reshuffles, disputed promotions and appointments, and the departure of key personnel. Several senior positions remain in acting capacity, while the secretariat is increasingly demoralised by what insiders describe as an unpredictable and unsettled working environment.

The crisis comes at a particularly consequential moment in Kenya’s political history. The 2027 election will be more than a contest for political power. In the aftermath of the Gen Z protests, marked by the killing and abduction of young protesters, unresolved demands for justice and accountability, ODM’s entry into the broad-based government, the historic impeachment of former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua and subsequent political realignments, the election will test the credibility of democratic institutions and the ability of the political establishment to respond to public demands for accountability.

Against the backdrop of growing frustration over the cost of living, taxation and unemployment, the polls will also test the strength of the opposition, the capacity of young people to translate activism into political representation, and the country’s commitment to constitutionalism and national unity.

It is precisely this election whose credibility is now being called into question by the management and organisational challenges confronting the IEBC.

While public attention has increasingly focused on the debate over livestreaming presidential election results, the commission faces more fundamental questions about its ability to organise and deliver the election in the first place.

The credibility of the 2027 polls will depend not only on the visibility of results as they are announced, but also on the integrity of the voter register, the identification and removal of duplicate or ineligible entries, the procurement and testing of election technology, the security of electronic results transmission, transparent procurement, independent voter education and the preparedness and impartiality of election officials.

Political parties, candidates, observers and citizens must also have meaningful opportunities to scrutinise and test the systems well before election day. Livestreaming is important, but transparency on results day cannot compensate for weaknesses in the processes that precede it.

It is against this backdrop that the commission’s internal management crisis raises serious concerns.

At the centre of the uncertainty is the prolonged delay in appointing a substantive Chief Executive Officer (CEO), a position critical to the day-to-day administration and coordination of the commission’s operations.

In late July, the IEBC advertised the position, giving applicants until August 11, 2026, to submit their applications.

The commission subsequently engaged an external recruitment firm to shortlist candidates, conduct interviews and recommend three names for consideration. More than three months later, however, the process had yet to progress to interviews, with commissioners reportedly divided over how to proceed, amid concerns that “there seems to be a preferred candidate”.

Following inquiries by this publication on October 28, 2026, the commission published a list of nine shortlisted candidates for the position. The candidates were scheduled to be interviewed on November 12 and 13, 2026.

While the publication of the shortlist signals movement in a recruitment process that had remained unresolved for months, the commission is yet to explain the prolonged delay. The scheduled interviews are also only the next stage of the process, with the substantive appointment still pending.

The delay has drawn criticism from Democratic Party (DP) leader and former Attorney General Justin Muturi, who has warned that the prolonged reliance on an acting CEO, alongside other senior officers serving in acting capacities, could destabilise the commission ahead of the polls.

“It is a grave mistake by IEBC to continue operating with only an acting CEO and other heads of department. Many of them are also acting and it’s a recipe for disaster in the management of various functions of the Commission. I read mischief on the part of the Commission,” Muturi argued.

The significance of the prolonged vacancy goes beyond the absence of a senior office holder. The CEO is central to the day-to-day administration of the commission, coordinating the work of its secretariat and overseeing the implementation of decisions made by the commissioners.

The office is critical to ensuring that the various directorates operate in a coordinated manner, electoral preparations remain on schedule and the commission’s administrative machinery functions effectively. With the 2027 polls approaching, the continued reliance on an acting CEO raises questions about institutional continuity, accountability and the commission’s ability to coordinate the complex preparations required for a national election.

The leadership uncertainty extends across the commission’s directorates. Of the nine directorates, six are headed by acting directors, while senior managers have been transferred to county and constituency offices and replaced by officers junior to them in rank.

The Procurement Department appears to have experienced the most turbulence, with four different officers taking charge within the last six months, some serving for only a few weeks before being replaced.

“We are very demoralised because no one is assured of their position, as well as fears that your junior will replace you anytime,” a member of the secretariat told this publication, requesting anonymity for fear of reprisals.

The upheaval has also affected the Directorate of Electoral Operations, following the departure of former Acting CEO Moses Sunkuli.

Sunkuli was appointed acting CEO in February this year following the sudden resignation of former CEO Marjan Hussein Marjan. In making the appointment, the commission bypassed his then seniors, Deputy CEOs Ruth Kulundu and Obadiah Keitany.

After serving for six months, the commission announced that Kulundu would take over as acting CEO pending the recruitment of a substantive office holder.

Sunkuli proceeded on leave. But when he returned to resume his substantive role as Director of Electoral Operations, he found that another officer, Haraar Noor Adan, had been appointed to head the directorate in an acting capacity.

“He simply handed in his resignation and left,” a senior employee told this publication, describing a fallout between Sunkuli and some commissioners that allegedly preceded the mass transfers in the department.

The transfers reportedly left only one employee, Sunkuli’s former secretary, in the directorate.

Two managers and other staff who had been working under Sunkuli were transferred in mid-September. Abdidahir Mohamed Abdi was moved to Mandera, while Gideon Reremoi Balang was posted to Nakuru as County Election Manager.

The leadership uncertainty is not confined to Electoral Operations.

The Directorate of Voter Education, Partnerships and Communication is headed by Joyce Ekwam in an acting capacity, while Abdalla Hassan is acting head of Human Resource and Administration.

Dr Meshack Lomoywara is acting head of Research, Electoral Boundaries and Risk Management, while Reuben Rotich is acting head of Finance. The Directorate of Risk, Audit and Compliance also lacks a substantive head.

The Procurement Department has been particularly unsettled, with a succession of appointments and transfers raising questions about continuity and the working environment within one of the commission’s most sensitive functions.

In another recent appointment, Fredrick Isika Muema was recruited from Sports Kenya as the new Director of Supply Chain Management.

He replaced Milka Chebosis, who had served in an acting capacity for less than two months. In an unusual move, Chebosis was subsequently transferred to Busia to take over as County Election Manager, despite her employment specialisation being in procurement.

Chebosis had, in turn, replaced John Kamau Miring’u, who returned to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) after a short stint at Anniversary Towers, reportedly citing unfavourable working conditions.

Miring’u had been recruited to replace Ashiq Khadija Ramadani, who had been asked to proceed on leave following a fallout with some of her superiors. While on leave, Ramadani secured a contract with the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), having earlier been interviewed for the position of Deputy Director and Head of Procurement.

“In less than one year, four officers have served in that department. That can only point to the issue of a bad working environment or demands for unprofessional conduct,” another staff member said.

The instability is also evident in the commission’s ongoing appointments, deployments and promotions across other staff cadres.

On May 21, 2026, the IEBC advertised internally for 13 County Election Managers (Grade 4) and 54 Senior Election Officers (Grade 5), with applications closing on June 4.

On July 6, the commission advertised a further four County Election Manager positions, setting July 28 as the application deadline.

The Grade 4 recruitment exercise was concluded in early September, while the Grade 5 process was only partially completed by October 27.

The exercises have reportedly generated disquiet within the secretariat, with some employees questioning whether the appointments and promotions were conducted in an open and fair manner.

The cumulative effect is an institution whose senior leadership remains unsettled, whose critical departments have experienced repeated changes of personnel and whose staff are uncertain about their positions and prospects.

With barely ten months to the 2027 General Election, the uncertainty raises fundamental questions about the commission’s administrative stability and its capacity to coordinate the preparations required for a credible national poll.

The CEO recruitment process illustrates the challenge. Although the IEBC published a shortlist of nine candidates on October 28, following inquiries by this publication, the commission has not explained why the exercise took more than three months to reach this stage. Nor had it responded to questions sent by this publication on the recruitment process and the wider management concerns raised by staff.

The nine candidates are scheduled to face interviews on November 12 and 13. Whether the exercise will now proceed to a substantive appointment without further delays remains to be seen.

With the election clock ticking, the question is whether the IEBC can resolve its internal management challenges, fill critical leadership vacancies and restore the institutional stability necessary to organize and deliver the 2027 General Election.

TOMORROW: Procurement Chaos and Tender Wars at IEBC