Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka has challenged the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) to guarantee a free and fair 2027 General Election, warning that the credibility of the electoral process will depend on the commission’s impartiality.
Kalonzo singled out IEBC chairman Erastus Edung Ethekon as the country entered the final year before the August 10, 2027 election, urging the commission to assure Kenyans that it will conduct a credible poll.
“We also had a message for IEBC Chairman Erastus Edung Ethekon and the Commission he leads: guarantee this election, free and fair, on August 10, 2027,” Kalonzo said.
“The referee must be impartial, or the people will have no faith in the process.”
The Wiper leader spoke on Monday during a Prayer Day organised by the Kenya Clergy Alliance and Kitui County clergy leadership at the Kenya Forestry Research Institute (KEFRI) grounds in Kitui.
He was accompanied by Speaker Justin Muturi, former Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, Kitui Governor Julius Malombe, Woman Representative Irene Kasalu, Kitui Central MP Makali Mulu, Kitui Rural MP Esther Nyenze, Mavoko MP Patrick Makau and other leaders.
Kalonzo said the one-year countdown to the election should mark the beginning of intensified political organisation, but placed the credibility of the electoral process at the centre of his message.
“Today, the 10th of August 2026, our election cycle formally opens and the clock begins its steady walk toward August 10, 2027. Three hundred and sixty-five days remain,” he said.
He urged opposition leaders and their supporters to use the remaining year to organise at the grassroots, saying the mobilisation would cover every level of the country.
“For the next 365 days, we mobilise and organise, county by county, ward by ward, until this movement becomes unstoppable,” Kalonzo said.
But his warning to IEBC was the clearest message from the Kitui meeting, coming as political parties begin positioning themselves for the 2027 contest.
Kalonzo said Kenyans would only have confidence in the outcome if the electoral commission remained independent and treated all political players equally.
“The referee must be impartial, or the people will have no faith in the process,” he said.
The remarks put the IEBC at the centre of the emerging political debate over the 2027 election, with parties expected to scrutinise the commission’s preparedness, independence and management of the electoral process.
Kalonzo has previously been involved in fiercely contested elections and has repeatedly called for electoral reforms and a credible voting process.
His latest warning comes against the backdrop of Kenya’s contested electoral history, with disputes over election results and the conduct of electoral institutions having featured prominently in previous polls.
The Wiper leader also made clear his political objective for the next election, saying the opposition would seek to defeat President William Ruto at the ballot.
“Let Ruto count the days left, for we shall count them too; not with anxiety, but with the quiet, gathering confidence of a people who know their hour is near,” Kalonzo said.
He added: “Three hundred and sixty-five days from today, wazalendo wenzangu, we shall vote Ruto out at the ballot.”
Kalonzo's remarks came in the presence of several opposition and former Government leaders, including Muturi and Wamalwa, as efforts to build a united political front against Ruto gather pace.
The opposition faces the challenge of bringing together several presidential hopefuls and parties before the election.
For Kalonzo, however, the first requirement is an electoral process that all sides can trust.
He ended his message with a call for political change through the ballot.
“Together, we shall Komboa Kenya. God bless, and Komboa Kenya,” he said.
