As Kenyans prepare to go to the general elections in just under two months, the role of the Electoral Commission of Kenya (ECK) will come under increasing scrutiny. Since the first multiparty polls in 1992, the ECK has asserted itself as an independent outfit with considerable experience and credibility to boot in managing the electoral process.

But as the official campaign window draws nearer, the ECK must be sufficiently prepared to address a host of challenges such as vote buying, campaign violence and other forms of electoral malpractice which could undermine the process and outcome of the polls.

Ultimately, the ECK will be judged on the extent to which it creates an environment for free and fair polls. Granted that the campaigns are bound to be extremely emotional, provocative and energized, the ECK's vigilance and stewardship will be on watch. The overriding expectation is that the ECK will be equal to the task since elections represent the most important democratic means of electing governments and holding them accountable.

Because the ECK has the constitutional mandate to manage elections, its neutrality and impartiality is of the essence. The recent appointment of new commissioners to the electoral body has raised fresh concerns over its neutrality and the constitutional role of the president in determining its composition vis a vis his competitors.

Even though the president has acted within his constitutional mandate in appointing new commissioners, there is disquiet that the ECK could become vulnerable to executive whiff in the absence of clear oversight by competing political parties and parliament in the manner and appointment of commissioners.

Indeed, the 1997 Inter-Party Parliamentary Group (IPPG) proposition that allowed opposition parties to nominate commissioners of their choice was meant to ensure that the ECK reflected the shade of political opinion and regional representation. But, the failure to enact the IPPG into law has enabled the President to retain the constitutional mandate of appointing commissioners.

While their is growing consensus on the need to need for a more consultative process in the appointment of ECK commissioners to assure the credibility and integrity of the electoral process, the ECK must be shielded from partisan party interests. The infiltration of the ECK by such interests would undermine rather than strengthen its capacity to conduct free and fair elections.

Indeed, the cardinal role of the commissioners is not to safeguard individual party interests but rather, to ensure that elections are conducted in accordance with all the relevant laws guiding the electoral process including the constitution, the Presidential and Parliamentary elections Act, the Electoral Offences Act, the Local Government Act, the Penal Code among others. In the main, the ECK must remain impartial and professional and peg its decisions on a strict interpretation of these laws.

But it must be acknowledged that the electoral commission is hampered in dealing firmly with challenges such as electoral violence which could potentially undermine free and fair polls. The ECK cannot for instance, nullify an election marred by violence and its capacity to reign in perpetrators of electoral violence through the court process is at best ambivalent.

As parties seize up for the elections, another major challenge for the ECK will be dealing firmly with unfair party nominations which has in the past undermined internal party democracy. In constituencies where the sponsorship of certain political parties is synonymous with election to parliament, the nomination exercise has degenerated into a political jigsaw and fertile ground for graft and political wheeler dealing.

The ECK must crack the whip and reign in errant parties unwilling to play by their nomination rules. To its credit, the ECK has already warned that it will lock out candidates who are not nominated in accordance with party rules and the provisions of the National Assembly and Presidential Act.

But the taste of the pudding is in the eating and it remains to be seen whether the ECK will make amends and ensure that only validly nominated candidates make it to the ballot paper. To do otherwise, would be to implicitly acquiesce to the perpetration of fraud by political parties.

The recent enactment of the Political Parties Act will be an important watershed in enhancing the ECK's oversight over political parties in the future. Under this law, the registration and conduct of political parties will come under closer regulation by the ECK. This should help streamline party activities in conformity with the law besides enhancing the accountability of political parties in areas such as campaign fund raising and party democracy. But before this law becomes operational, it behooves upon the ECK to ensure that political parties play by the rules towards free and fair elections.

The writer is the editorial manager with the Media Focus on Africa Foundation
and a frequent contributor to the Daily Nation and Standard.