The few weeks remaining leading to the elections the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has been under intense scrutiny.Countless of court cases, all sorts of questions from contestants and observers on its level of preparedness. All these seem to be coming to a close as we draw near to the set date.With the outcome of the elections not being known, the General Election will be held in two weeks although at some point this seemed imposibble.Looking back at the violence that errupted in 2007 the IEBC should be experts in knowing the unforseen in the coming elections on August.Other elections, like the ones held in 1992 and 1997, should also have served as learning points. Observations of this year’s roller-coaster of lawsuits is that we are yet to learn and agree on the value of early preparations.The problem seems to be with the refree. The kenyan people do not trust the refree to do a good job and atbthe same time stress to be impartial. This is a quality that the Kenyan people belive that the IEBC does not possess.We therefore ought to place enough resources and plan years ahead before we can demand performance from the electoral body.Hopefully the enactment of the Election Offences Act 2016 will arrest this trend.Part 6 of the Act lays out the “rule book” for IEBC staff and the day we start holding people responsible for their actions we will start having credible elections.

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