IEBC to Postpone Major Boundary Changes Until After 2027 Polls
News Updated: 27 January 2026 19:40 EAT
IEBC Chair Erastus Ethekon, joined by fellow commissioners, held a press briefing with journalists at Anniversary Towers in Nairobi to discuss the ongoing electoral boundary review process.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission has announced that it will not conduct a full delimitation of electoral boundaries ahead of the 2027 General Election, citing severe time constraints and the risk of undermining election preparedness.
IEBC Chairperson Erastus Ethekon said a comprehensive boundary review at this stage would overstretch the commission, which is already racing against time to prepare for the August 2027 polls after a prolonged period of inactivity caused by the absence of commissioners.
Instead, the commission will adopt a phased approach to boundary delimitation, focusing on technical groundwork such as data collection, mapping, and internal capacity building, while deferring substantive changes until after the general election.
Ethekon explained that a full boundary review typically takes at least two years to complete and must, under the Constitution, be finalised no later than 12 months before a general election, timelines that have already been overtaken.
The IEBC last concluded a major boundary review in 2012, with the next review constitutionally due by March 2024, a deadline that lapsed while the commission was not fully constituted.
Complicating the process further are ongoing legal disputes over the 2019 Kenya Population and Housing Census, with courts nullifying census results in several counties, leaving the IEBC without legally sound population data required for delimitation.
Ethekon also dismissed expectations of new constituencies being created ahead of 2027, stressing that the 2010 Constitution caps the number of constituencies at 290, a limit the commission has no mandate to alter.
He noted that while constituency numbers are fixed, the law presents contradictions on the number of wards, with the Constitution allowing flexibility but statutory legislation imposing a cap, an issue the IEBC says requires parliamentary intervention.
The IEBC chairperson said the commission remains committed to delivering a credible 2027 election and will pursue a full boundary review after the polls, once legal, data, and operational challenges have been resolved.
Tags: Iebc Signsmedia Editor's Pick Edung Ethekon Signs Media Kenya Limited Signstv Signstvkenya
Share this article
FELIX MAKONA
FACT FINDER AND DATA DRIVEN JOURNALIST. DATA MINING AT IT'S BEST. GET FACTS RANGING FROM MATTERS DISABILITY AND INCLUSION, POLITICS, ECONOMY, SPORTS AND GENERAL NEWS AROUND THE WORLD