Boundary review debate needless, says Chebukati

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will release details on how it will review electoral boundaries after receiving a report of the 2019 census.

“The commission has formally written to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) to get detailed census report and will give a boundary review roadmap thereafter,” commission chairman Wafula Chebukati said yesterday.

However, Chebukati termed it premature the raging debate on the review of electoral boundaries saying the exercise is not expected anytime soon.

He said the review will involve broad public hearings and consultations as required by the law.

Chebukati did not state when the exercise will happen, but had last year hinted the exercise would take place in August 2020.

Constituencies that did not meet the population quota during the census may be scrapped during the review of the boundaries.

Chebukati’s remarks came as an analysis of the census results released on Monday at State House, Nairobi, revealed 28 constituencies in Rift Valley could have their boundaries altered to conform with the population quota pegged at 133,000 people.

The region has 76 constituencies and its elected leaders have vowed to ensure no constituency is scrapped.

The legislators poked holes into the outcome of the census saying the results did not represent a true picture.

“The census result of 96,897 people in Marakwet East shows failure by the government to fight against banditry that has seen about half of the population migrate to other regions of the country,” said area MP Kangogo Bowen.

William Kisang, of Marakwet West, said his constituency is among those that have been in existence since 1988 and that they will resist any attempts to scrap them.

[Additional reporting by Julius Chepkwony and James Munyeki]