MP Murugara: Don’t redraw constituency lines without meeting legal rules
Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) Chairperson and Tharaka MP George Murugara has emphasised that the process of constituency boundary delimitation ahead of the 2027 general elections must be conducted within constitutional limits and informed by demographic realities.
As the country approaches another electoral cycle, Murugara underscore the importance of aligning electoral boundaries with both the law and the expectations of a growing population.
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Speaking on a local TV station on Monday, July 14, 2025, Murugara pointed out that the process is often time-consuming and requires adequate funding.
“The process usually takes time,” he noted, adding that “you don’t remember financing to do Justice and Legal Affairs Committee again, I may not recollect because at that time I was not the chairman.”
According to Murugara, the last major attempt to realign constituencies occurred around 2020 during the push for constitutional amendments that sought to expand representation.
“You remember here the constitutional amendment attempt, which went down… because the idea was urgent to align the provision in the current constitution with an amendment that we would create 72 constituencies, which is what Kenyans are waiting for today,” he said.
Murugara expressed concern that without an increase in the number of constituencies, the public may feel short-changed.
“If you tell them the Independent Electoral and Boundary Commission is going to delimit constituencies, but they will not exceed 290, Kenyans will come at you saying, ‘we want constituencies that deserve to be split… actually to be split.”
Boundary requirements
However, he stressed that the process must adhere strictly to legal requirements.
“If they are to increase, they must meet the constitutional threshold, required population, and those that are protected must beat that threshold first,” he asserted.
The JLAC chair underscored that any adjustments would ultimately depend on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), which has the mandate to initiate proposals.
“It is the responsibility of IBC to propose… and it is for Parliament to approve this. There is no other way around that Parliament is going to initiate the legislator,” he said.
Murugara also differentiated between genuine boundary reviews and superficial adjustments, cautioning that Kenyans are expecting meaningful reforms.
“This is not what Kenyans are waiting for. They want constituencies that are overpopulated and split. To me, what Kenyans are looking forward to… are those [constituencies] that deserve to be split,” he argued.
