IEBC chairperson, Erastus Ethekon speaking during a consultative forum with senior officials from the Interior Ministry on Friday, May 15, 2026. PHOTO | IEBC
By Joseph Muia
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairperson, Erastus Ethekon, has warned politicians that they risk disqualification from the upcoming General Election if they engage in electoral misconduct, especially violence involving goons and criminal gangs.
Speaking during a consultative forum with senior officials from the Interior Ministry led by Kipchumba Murkomen, the IEBC chief accused some politicians and aspirants of fueling violence through criminal networks during the electioneering period.
Ethekon said politicians and aspirants using violence to advance political agendas would face sanctions under the election code of conduct.
“When the election code of conduct checks in, we will take decisive action against those involved, we are very clear on that ...” he said.
“The gangs are there because there is a demand, and so we should focus on who is demanding these services.”
Murkomen, on his part, committed to dealing with goonism, citing that “we shall decisively deal with the issue of goonism and hold perpetrators accountable.”
Interior PS Raymond Omollo added, “we want results to be conveyed faster so that goons don't crowd for five days at polling stations.”
Having missed its voter registration target by 8 per cent during the recently concluded voter registration exercise, the electoral commission raised concerns over the shortage of identity cards among eligible voters.
“Many Kenyans were turned away during mass registration of voters simply because they lack IDs… we want this issue addressed seriously,” Ethekon stated.
Immigration Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang said the government is working to address the delays in ID issuance.
“We have about 489k uncollected IDs and 1M yet to be printed ... we have issued 949k new IDs and 2M were issued between 2025 and 2026,” said Kipsang.
The Interior Ministry also revealed that it has identified potential hotspots ahead of the 2027 General Election through intelligence gathering, with security agencies already responding to possible threats that could interfere with election preparedness and execution.
Meanwhile, the IEBC announced plans to convene a National Election Preparedness Conference bringing together political parties, civil society groups, election observers and religious leaders to strengthen preparations for free, fair and inclusive elections. Citizen Digital
