Mudavadi: Don’t blame Ruto for delays in constituting IEBC

Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi has said President William Ruto should not be blamed for the delays in constituting the electoral agency.

Mudavadi said individuals who have gone to court over the constitution of the IEBC should take full blame for the delays in having the electoral agency in place.

“People are talking and the things they are saying are not true. They are saying the President is the one behind the delays,” he said.

Speaking in Cheptais in Bungoma County during an interdenominational prayer service, Mudavadi said those in court should withdraw their cases.

“There are those who went to court and it is not Ruto’s administration. The President is a person who cannot break the law. Those who went to court should be blamed for the delays,” he said.

Present at the service were Ruto, Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang’ula, Bungoma governor Kenneth Lusaka and a host of lawmakers from the Western region.

On January 14, 2025, Law Society of Kenya President Faith Odhiambo warned that the country is at risk of breaching the Constitution due to a lack of a properly constituted electoral body.

Odhiambo called for concerted efforts to constitute the IEBC, further warning that the political landscape is on the brink of implosion.

“Accordingly, it is incumbent upon the Judiciary to take firm, decisive action to resolve the prolonged dispute between Dr. Augustus Muli and the Azimio la Umoja Coalition,” she said.

Odhiambo said vacant positions on the commission following the removal of all four commissioners and the expiry of the term for the IEBC chair and two commissioners in early 2023, coupled with the significant delays in reconstituting the electoral agency presents a constitutional and democratic crisis. 

In December last year, Mudavadi asked individuals who have moved to court over the constitution of the IEBC selection panel to drop the cases.

He said some politicians were using the court system to frustrate efforts to reconstitute the electoral commission citing malice as the driving force.