Parties face Thursday deadline in IEBC’s 2027 election timetable

NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 14 – Political parties planning to field candidates in the 2027 General Election have until Thursday, October 15, to submit the names and specimen signatures of their authorised officials to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

The commission, in a notice issued on Wednesday, directed the parties to deliver the documents to its offices at Anniversary Towers, South Tower, seventh floor, between 8am and 5pm.

The requirement is among the administrative steps parties must complete as the electoral agency rolls out its timetable for the next General Election.

The exercise comes as political outfits begin laying the groundwork for the polls, including organising their leadership structures and putting in place the procedures needed to identify candidates.

The Constitution provides for a General Election on the second Tuesday of August every five years. However, the date of the 2027 polls has become the subject of a legal dispute following a recent High Court ruling that the election should be held in August 2026. Implementation of the decision was suspended to avert a constitutional crisis.

Under the electoral timetable published by the IEBC on August 25, parties face another key deadline on October 30, when their nomination rules are expected to be certified by the Registrar of Political Parties.

The rules provide the framework through which political parties select candidates for elective positions and are expected to comply with constitutional and statutory requirements.

They must spell out how candidates will be selected, whether through competitive primaries, direct nominations or consensus, while setting timelines for the process and procedures for resolving disputes arising from nominations.

Political parties are also required to use a certified membership register obtained from the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties when conducting nominations. The requirement is intended to ensure that only eligible party members participate in the selection of candidates.

The IEBC’s schedule sets November 6, 2026, as the deadline for parties to submit their certified nomination rules to the commission.

Failure to meet the requirements could complicate a party’s preparations for the elections, as nomination procedures must satisfy the applicable legal standards before candidates can be cleared to contest.

Public officers seeking elective seats in the 2027 General Election will be required to resign from their government positions by February 10, 2027, setting a deadline for those planning to transition from public service to elective politics.