The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has called on politicians and candidates seeking office in the 2027 General Election to be prepared to accept defeat, warning that refusal to concede could escalate political tensions and fuel violence.
IEBC Commissioner Hassan Noor Hassan said candidates have a responsibility to accept election results peacefully and allow the electoral process to run its course.
He said countries that hold peaceful elections often avoid violence because losing candidates accept the outcome rather than contesting it without credible grounds.
Hassan spoke during a national election security roundtable organised by the IEBC, which brought together institutions involved in election management and information dissemination. Representatives from the Media Council of Kenya, Communications Authority of Kenya and Office of the Registrar of Political Parties attended the forum.
According to Hassan, conceding defeat early can help ease tensions during the tallying and announcement of results.
He said the IEBC would continue engaging political parties and candidates before the 2027 polls to promote peaceful competition and acceptance of election outcomes.
The commissioner also expressed confidence in the commission’s preparedness, pointing to the 32 by-elections conducted over the past year as an opportunity to test its systems.
He said the exercises had successfully tested the recruitment of election officials, procurement and distribution of election materials, as well as the results management system.
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Hassan further maintained that the technology used by the IEBC in recent elections had remained reliable, dismissing concerns over possible system failures.
He assured stakeholders that the commission was working to deliver a credible and efficient electoral process in 2027, including systems designed to make it harder for candidates to reject results without substantive justification.
However, Hassan acknowledged that technological preparedness alone could not guarantee a peaceful election. He said the conduct of political actors would remain crucial in determining whether the country avoids election-related violence.
He warned against a repeat of the violence that followed the disputed 2007 General Election, which resulted in more than 1,000 deaths and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.
Hassan identified political competition, ethnic mobilisation, misinformation and unresolved grievances among the key threats that could undermine the 2027 electoral process.