NAIROBI — In a sober admission of the fragility facing Kenya’s electoral infrastructure, Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) CEO Marjan Hussein Marjan has called for a radical shift to “adaptive planning” to safeguard the integrity of future polls.

Speaking Monday at a high-stakes post-mortem meeting in Upperhill, Nairobi, Marjan addressed a room packed with skeptical political party representatives, civil society watchdogs, and security officials. The backdrop was grim: the November 27 by-elections in Kasipul, Malava, and Nyamira were marred by significant logistical lapses, voter intimidation, and pockets of violence that have cast a long shadow over the commission’s readiness for the 2027 General Election.

The 'Adaptive' Pivot

“We can no longer rely on static, linear strategies for a dynamic and often volatile political landscape,” Marjan told the stakeholders. He argued that the traditional, rigid timelines used by the commission are ill-equipped to handle the rapid shifts in security and technology that define modern Kenyan politics.

Marjan’s concept of “adaptive planning” involves:

• Scenario-Based Logistics: Pre-positioning assets for multiple outcomes rather than a single 'best-case' scenario.
• Real-Time Security Integration: A more fluid collaboration with the National Police Service to deploy rapid response units to hotspots like Malava *before* tensions boil over.
• Fiscal Agility: Moving away from rigid budget lines to allow for emergency resource allocation when technology fails or legal hurdles arise.

“The events in Malava were a wake-up call,” Marjan noted, referencing the chaotic scenes where voting was briefly disrupted by hired goons. “If we do not adapt our planning to anticipate these disruptions, we fail the Kenyan voter.”

A Crisis of Confidence

The CEO’s call for reform comes at a moment of acute vulnerability for the electoral body. Just yesterday, a coalition of civil society organizations, including the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC) and Transparency International–Kenya, threatened legal action over the conduct of the recent mini-polls. They cited “widespread irregularities” that they claim the IEBC failed to mitigate.

Critics argue that “planning” is not the issue—leadership is. Former Nairobi Town Clerk Philip Kisia has publicly called for Marjan’s resignation, arguing that the CEO’s continued tenure is a liability ahead of 2027. “This is not about semantics; it is about trust,” Kisia said in a separate interview. “You cannot plan your way out of a deficit of public confidence.”

The Cost of Democracy

Beyond the strategy, the financial reality remains stark. The commission is still grappling with a debt of over KES 200 million owed to suppliers from previous elections—a situation that led to Marjan being found in contempt of court earlier this year.

For the average Kenyan taxpayer, the stakes are financial as well as political. A botched election translates to economic stagnation. The cost of the 2022 election was over KES 40 billion; repeating mistakes in 2027 could cost the economy far more in lost investment and stability.

“We are asking for the resources to build a system that bends but does not break,” Marjan emphasized. “But resources without strategy are waste. Adaptive planning is how we ensure every shilling yields a credible vote.”

As the meeting concluded, the mood remained cautious. With less than two years to the next General Election, the window for the IEBC to pivot from “rigid” to “adaptive” is closing fast. The question remains whether this new doctrine is a genuine strategic overhaul or merely a buzzword to deflect from the stinging lessons of November.