Days after the resignation of Marjan Hussein Marjan as the Chief Executive Officer of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission IEBC, the electoral agency has now appointed Moses Ledama Sunkuli to take over in an acting capacity.
Making the announcement, the commission said Sunkuli who was the commission’s electoral operations director until his new appointment, will serve in the capacity for six months
Commission Chairman Erastus Ekethon in the announcement, hailed Sunkuli’s competence saying he brings extensive experience and internal institutional knowledge to the role.
“The Commission is committed to fast-tracking the recruitment of a substantive Chief Executive Officer/Commission Secretary and ensuring a seamless transition, while maintaining the highest standards of excellence in service delivery to the Kenyan people,” he stated.
Sunkuli has been within the commission’s realm for nearly a decade and was the returning officer in the run-up to the 2017 General elections.
In his new role, Sunkuli will now be the administrative head of the IEBC, to oversee the day-to-day operations of the institution. He will also be responsible for implementing decisions made by the IEBC commissioners, managing staff at county offices and the headquarters and ensuring the commission functions efficiently, particularly during election cycles.
He takes over ahead of several by-elections for MCA positions slated for later on this month.
Marjan, who resigned on Tuesday, February 3, ended a career of more than a decade at the Commission which marked him as the longest-serving senior official in the electoral agency’s history.
“It has been an honor to work with a professional, dedicated and resilient team committed to the constitutional mandate of the IEBC,” he said in his exit memo to IEBC staff.
His departure came as Kenya readies for the 2027 General elections and amid mounting pressure from opposition parties regarding his leadership and the use of Smartmatic for electoral systems.