IEBC Chair Wafula Chebukati has landed the top position at the General Assembly of Association of African Election Authorities (AAEA).
This comes amidst the possibility that the embattled polls boss, and his commissioners, will be sent home if the just unveiled Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) report is adopted.
According to the recommendations of the BBI task force, one of the solutions to the country’s problematic elections is fresh vetting of top IEBC officials.
AAEA is an organized network of elections officials from around the continent, who are engaged in a range of election transparency assurance activities, including pre-election assessment and election observation.
Kenya is one of the top African nations with recurring cases of election based disputes, sometimes leading to violence, and even death, as witnessed during the 2008 post-election period.
Chebukati’s tenure at the IEBC has been marred by accusations of facilitating electoral malpractices, especially during the 2017 General Election, where the losing political faction accused the body of manipulating numbers to the favour of the ruling Jubilee Party.
Consequently, the IEBC lost several commissioners who quit voluntarily, after the protests that emerged after the disputed polls.
The body also dismissed its Chief Executive Officer, Ezra Chiloba, following a long-running dispute with Chebukati.
Meanwhile, the IEBC chair has maintained that his team must complete its term up to 2022 before disbandment, despite the BBI recommendations.