Former IEBC Chief Executive Officer Hussein Marjan during the launch of a One-Week Technical Study Tour for the South Sudan National Elections Commission at the Kenya School of Government (KSG) Lower Kabete. February 17,2025. [Elvis Ogina ,Standard]
Election crisis that forced Marjan out of IEBC
Politics
By
Josphat Thiong'o
| Feb 26, 2026
The exit of former Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission(IEBC) CEO Marjan Hussein Marjan was necessitated by a need for the Commission to avoid lawsuits, which could potentially set back preparations for the 2027 elections, further eroding what little public trust is enjoyed by the commission.
Reservations on former CEO Hussein Marjan overseeing another General Election from the United Opposition also led to his sudden exit from the commission.
READ MORE
'Wasteful' priorities: MPs reject IEBC's Sh64 billion budget
Uhuru should stay silent like Moi and Kibaki after their retirement
Murang'a leads counties in jobs, digital services
Indiza, Wakhu, Mediratta start early preps for 2027 MKO
Murang'a tops ranking as rural counties lag in service automation
Bodies of two men tortured and murdered found in Kilifi's Gede forest
Ombudsman orders ministry to bin unlawful Sh30 SMS charge for Grade 10 placement results
DR Congo, M23 fighters trade accusations over ceasefire
Why Sudi has only opened his mouth in Parliament to yawn or drink water
Zanzibar launches $12 million heritage restoration drive with private partner
Appearing before the National Assembly Justice and Legal Affairs Committee, IEBC Vice Chairperson Fahima Araphat revealed that the exit of Marjan was for the good of the country, with the decision being based on a mutual separation agreement.
Marjan, whose tenure in office had seen him preside over two General Elections, resigned earlier this month in a move that caught the public by surprise.
On Wednesday, however, it emerged that the former Chief Executive Officer was forced out of the electoral agency by Commissioners to avert a crisis ahead of the 2027 general election.
“It’s in the public domain that the tenure of our former CEO was coming to an end in March 2027 and that the elections are slated for August.
"We all understand the litigious nature of our country and we didn’t want a scenario where, as a commission, we could be renewing his contract and we are taken to court for any other reason,” submitted the Vice Chairperson.
READ: How Marjan was forced to resign as IEBC CEO
They therefore decided to have him exit and bring on board a new CEO who will be able to familiarise himself with the process in good time.
Araphat was responding to a query by the acting Committee chairperson, Mwengi Mutuse, who had sought to know the reason behind the abrupt resignation of Marjan.
Rarieda MP Otiende Amollo, however, questioned the timing and hurried nature of the former CEO’s resignation, noting that a day before his exit, Marjan led the Commission in meeting MPs in Naivasha during a Parliamentary retreat and there was no indication that he was set to resign.
“We as a committee, were concerned that a day before the resignation, we were interacting with you in Naivasha and no such issue arose. We would have thought that if it was as structured as you are putting it, it would have come up in Naivasha,” remarked Amollo.
ALSO READ: As he rose, controversy hounds Marjan out of IEBC
Citing previous legal and administrative challenges that had seen the Commission previously serve for a long period of time with an acting CEO, the lawmaker sought to know what measures had been put in place to avert the same.
“When the last CEO left, the immediate former CEO acted for an inordinately long time. We would like to know whether you have put in structures or plans so that you don’t have an acting CEO but a substantive CEO now that we are approaching the General election,” said Amollo.
In her response, the Vice Chairperson explained that before the Naivasha meeting, there was no indication that the then CEO would be exiting and that plans were in top gear for the recruitment of another CEO in three months.
“We have plans in place to recruit a new CEO as required by law and transparently and competitively. The recruitment will be within one to three months. We pray that there will be no issues similar to those that arose last time,” said Araphat.
Share this story