A deal was struck yesterday on the IEBC exit and commissioners will leave when a new panel is sworn in, avoiding a power vacuum and preventing a constitutional crisis.
Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Joseph Kinyua said in a statement that the details of the nine commissioners golden handshakes are secret for the sake of “privacy and security of the commissioners”.
They are to learn on Monday after calculations this weekend.
“As we all know, salaries are not matters to be discussed in public, we wouldn’t want to put their lives in danger by saying how much they will be paid,” Kinyua said.
It is estimated that the cost of sending the commissioners home is at least Sh164 million, with chairman Issack Hassan likely to get Sh33.1 million.
The earliest a new team can be in place is November 25 and election preparation deadlines are likely to be missed.
Kinyua said the commissioners would remain in office “to avoid power vacuum and constitutional crisis”.
He said negotiations were guided by the need to strike a balance among public interests, legal and constitutional demands, each commissioner’s contract of appointment and the guidance of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.
“The process was not geared towards any party emerging as the winner, but rather as an objective endeavour towards securing a dignified vacation from office,” Kinyua said.
He said the unanimous decision was guided by the report by the Joint Parliamentary Select Committee, the Election Laws Amendment Act 2016, and the judgement on what is a legally constituted commission.
Hassan said they are grateful for being allowed to oversee the transition process. “We reiterate that the current commissioners are not a stumbling block in the preparation of the coming general elections.”
He said swift outcome of the negotiations was evidence of that commitment.
Hassan urged an expedited recruitment process of the seven new commissioners.
Treasury PS Kamau Thugge said the decision on the send-off package considered four broad areas.
These were the unexpired term of contract for each of the commissioners, a gratuity of 31 per cent for the terms served by each commissioner, accumulated unpaid leave and ex-gratia payment.
Thugge said all these terms fall within the Employment Act.
The talks to determine a send-off package for the IEBC commissioners started late last month against a fast ticking clock for electoral reforms.
All commissioners were expected to start negotiations for their exit package in a tripartite meeting. The meeting was to bring together Attorney General Githu Muigai, Treasury CS Henry Rotich and officials of the Salaries and Remuneration Commission.
Some of the commissioners were said to have started carting their personal property out of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission offices at Anniversary Towers, in preparation for their exit.
“They are preparing to leave. Some are clearing out,” a source at Anniversary Towers said.