Members of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission will not leave office by Friday as proposed by a joint parliamentary committee.
This emerged after revelations that talks on their exit package are yet to be concluded with Attorney General Githu Muigai saying this was expected by Friday.
In addition, amendments passed by Parliament that allow the commissioners to resign voluntarily will come into effect next Tuesday.
This also means that a selection panel to constitute a new seven-member electoral commission cannot be put in place until after this date.
But even with this, the exercise cannot begin as long as the IEBC commissioners are still in office. Their exit is pegged on their “dignified” exit package.
Yesterday, Githu told the Star he is hopeful the inter-agency group would conclude the exit package by the end of the week.
The group is made up of officials from the AG’s office, the National Treasury and the Salaries and Remuneration Commission. “The respective offices have put together a working group to galvanise the terms of the exit package. Hopefully by Friday,” the AG said.
The IEBC commissioners have said they cannot leave before their exit pay is agreed upon. They were yesterday expected to send their proposal to the group.
Chairman Issack Hassan did not confirm whether the commissioners will vacate office by the end of this month as recommended by the now-defunct Joint Parliamentary Select Committee on electoral reforms.
However, he raised concerns that smooth transition and handing over at the IEBC as proposed by the committee co-chaired by Siaya Senator James Orengo and his Meru counterpart Kiraitu Murungi may not be attained due to tight deadlines.
Already packing
Hassan said the commissioners are already preparing to handover to the new team.
He said they are yet to engage the AG, the SRC and the Treasury on their send-off packages, because the bill signed by the President allowing their exit is yet to come into law. “We have not been engaged in the pay negotiation talks because the law is coming into effect on October 4,” Hassan said.
National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi has said the recruitment of new commissioners cannot start as long as there are no vacancies at the IEBC. “Political statements aside, the reality of the matter is that all the commissioners, including the chairperson, are still in office,” he said. “Can recruitment be done to a position whose holder is still holding office? The law provides that the office of a chair or a commissioner becomes vacant when the holder dies, resigns or is removed from office using the constitutionally provided mechanisms.”
Muturi said the laws amending electoral laws will take effect 14 days after they were published, despite the President assenting to them on September 20.
“As a matter of fact, an attempt by the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee to amend the Bill to provide that the Act takes effect upon publication was shot down by the House even after the Speaker of the National Assembly had approved the proposed amendment so as to fast track this process,” he said.
The Speaker said due to this, there is no effective law as yet to enable constitution of the IEBC Selection Panel as stipulated in the Act.
Religious organisations have proposed names of their nominees to the selection panel. Muturi said Parliament will send its nominees after next Tuesday.
The golden handshake required to send home the nine IEBC commissioners will cost the taxpayer Sh164 million.
The glittering parachute will include salaries for the year remaining in their contracts, winding up payments, gratuities, existing mortgages and car loans. It will also cover medical and life insurance, cars and fuel, drivers, bodyguards, telephone service and other benefits of office.
In an earlier interview, the AG told the Star the compensation model will be the framework used when the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission was sent home in 2011.
Former commission boss PLO Lumumba and four deputy directors left on August 23, 2011, after Parliament passed a law effectively sacking all commissioners. The IEBC officers agreed to depart after the opposition and key segments of society said they had no confidence in their ability to conduct a free, fair and transparent elections.
Chairman Hassan is likely to take home Sh33.1 million, including the Sh12.9 million he would have earned from November this year to November 2017.
Having served for five years, he is also entitled to Sh20.1 million gratuity, calculated as 31 per cent of the annual salary for each year served.
IEBC vice chair Lilian Mahiri-Zaja is to receive Sh27.3 million, including Sh10.7 million salary and Sh16.3 million gratuity. The other seven IEBC commissioners are to take home Sh22.2 million each — Sh8.7 million as forfeited salary and Sh13.4 million gratuity.
The government will spend part of the Sh5 billion Emergency Fund to pay off the commissioners, Treasury CS Henry Rotich says.