New Kenya vote zones due in January

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission will publish the new constituency boundaries in the first week of January next year, Chairman Issack Hassan has said.

The elections boss said that the preliminary report will be shared with the public and other stakeholders to give their input before it is revised and sent to Parliament for approval.

The law requires that IEBC uses the Ligale report and a report by Parliament’s legal committee as its primary and secondary references, respectively.

Review boundaries

The Ligale report was rejected by some regions on grounds that it had not complied with the Constitution over the creation of the 80 new constituencies. (READ: Tussle over Kenya's new electoral boundaries)

However, it was adopted by Parliament with a rider that the IEBC be given four months to review the boundaries afresh. (READ: Parliament adopts boundaries report)

“We have this far studied and interrogated the IIBRC report and that of the Parliamentary Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs.

The necessary infrastructure, equipment and personnel have been sourced and critical work is going on well,” Mr Hassan said.

According to IEBC’s timeline released at the weekend, if the IEBC Act timeline applies, the review of constituencies will be complete and the report be ready for use by May 8, 2012.

On the other hand, if the constitutional timeline applies the date will be pushed to July 8.

“To meet these legal timelines, the Commission has developed its own timelines which it strives to implement with some clockwork tenacity.

“We will strive to meet each of these legal requirements even though they do not congregate towards the achievement the ultimate deadline,” Mr Hassan said in a statement.

The review of boundaries is tied to the registration of voters as some will have to be transferred to polling stations of their choice.

According to Mr Hassan, the Commission plans to register eight million more voters (from the registered 12.4 million).

“Waiting for the boundaries to be determined first before embarking on voter registration, could mean delaying the publishing of the voter register and subsequently, elections,” said Mr Hassan.

As one of the ways to beat the time constraints that may lock out many Kenyans if elections are held in August, the IEBC says that voter registration will be conducted in strictly 30 days and there will not be any extensions as has been in the past.

Diaspora Register

The Commission must also conduct voter registration for Kenyans living abroad and prepare a Diaspora Register and the law requires that all the exercise must come to an end 90 days before elections.

Voters will be given 30 days to inspect the register and confirm their details.

Mr Hassan said that the commission had assumed the best case scenarios (during the boundary review) where objections and court cases will not further delay the process.

The Commission has prepared a timetable that cast further doubt on the possibility of next year’s elections being held in August. (READ: Polls team rules out August date)

The timetable appears more complicated by the establishment of the new Constituencies and subsequent voter registration.

According to the Constitution, elections should be held on August 14, 2012.