Sifuna faults IEBC over Mbadi’s replacement and delayed by-election
By Aloys Michael, August 10, 2025Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) Secretary General and Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has raised the alarm over what he termed as two manifestly flawed decisions by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
Sifina has accused the electoral body of violating the law in recent actions concerning Parliament and pending by-elections.
In a statement on his X account on Sunday, August 10, 2025, Sifuna called out IEBC for disregarding legal provisions in the replacement of former nominated MP John Mbadi (currently, CS for Treasury) and delaying by-elections beyond constitutionally allowed timelines.
“Two back-to-back manifestly flawed decisions by the new @IEBCKenya are enough cause for alarm,” Sifuna wrote.
The first issue, according to the ODM senator, revolves around how IEBC handled the replacement of Mbadi. He argued that the commission failed to adhere to the legal requirement that the replacement must come from the same nomination category as the departing member.
“When picking Mbadi’s replacement, the commission ignored the law on selecting the next person from the same category in which Mbadi was nominated. Mbadi was nominated under the ‘workers’ category,” the statement read.
The IEBC has faced criticism from sections of the political class over what some perceive as an increasingly casual interpretation of constitutional procedures since its new leadership took office earlier this year.
Sifuna also took issue with the Commission’s timeline for conducting upcoming by-elections, particularly for vacant parliamentary seats. He cited Article 101(4)(b) of the Constitution, which requires IEBC to conduct a by-election within 90 days of the issuance of writs.
“Article 101(4)(b) requires IEBC to conduct by-elections within 90 days of issuance of writs. Unless my maths is wrong, November 27th is more than 100 days away,” he noted.
The Nairobi Senator’s sharp critique adds to growing unease among political stakeholders over the IEBC’s readiness and impartiality ahead of key electoral events.
IEBC’s response
The electoral commission defended its decision to nominate Harold Kipchumba to replace John Mbadi, saying the process followed the law and was based on a list submitted by ODM in 2022.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, July 30, 2025, the IEBC explained that Kipchumba was selected under the Elections Act and the Elections (General) Regulations, 2012.
The Commission said it used the original party list submitted by ODM in July 2022 and followed the required order of gender and priority to arrive at Kipchumba’s name.
“Section 37 of the Elections Act and Regulation 56B of the Elections (General) Regulations, 2012, provide that a party list seat that falls vacant shall be re-allocated to the next qualified nominee in order of gender and priority, as originally submitted by the political party. In this case, the nominee who qualified under the law was Harold Kimuge Kipchumba, who is of the same gender as Hon Mbadi and was the next in line on the submitted list,” the IEBC statement read.