After more than six months of legal battles that repeatedly derailed the process, members of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) are finally voting to elect a new council in a fully electronic election expected to shape the institution’s leadership for the next two years.

The long-awaited elections for the 2026–2028 IEK Council officially began at 6:00 a.m. on Monday and are scheduled to close at 6:00 p.m., bringing to an end months of uncertainty caused by successive court orders that stalled the polls.

Speaking during the exercise, Chairman of the Scrutineers Committee, Engineer Stephen Auma, said the committee’s mandate is to ensure the elections are conducted in a transparent, credible and efficient manner.

“Our role is to manage the elections to the 2026–2028 Council of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya. The elections are going on right now. It commenced at 6:00 a.m. and is supposed to be concluded at 6:00 p.m. The system is 100 percent electronic,” said Eng. Auma.

More than 2,800 engineers are eligible to vote, with over 1,000 members having cast their ballots by mid-morning, signalling strong participation despite the prolonged delays.

Members are electing officials to key positions, including President, First Vice President, Second Vice President, Honorary Secretary, Honorary Treasurer and six Ordinary Council Members.

Eng. Auma expressed confidence in the integrity of the electronic voting platform, saying the system will automatically generate provisional results moments after polls close.

“At the close of voting at 6:00 p.m. today, the results will be generated automatically and all voters will be able to view the results from wherever they are. Those are regarded as provisional results because our constitution provides that the results be announced at an annual general meeting, which will be held in due course,” he said.

According to the IEK constitution, the elections were initially scheduled for March 23. However, the process was suspended after members secured court orders on March 13, forcing the institution to halt preparations.

“The case that was filed in court was settled on June 17, and the judgment allowed us to continue with the elections,” Eng. Auma explained.

Following the ruling, the elections were rescheduled for July 27, but another court application led to fresh orders issued on July 23, once again putting the exercise on hold.

The suspension was later lifted, paving the way for voting to proceed on August 3.

“So we hope the process will run smoothly until the end,” he said.

The institution expects provisional results to be available about a minute after voting closes, allowing members across Kenya and abroad to access the outcome in real time before the official declaration at the Annual General Meeting.