Kenya cannot get a new electoral commission before Christmas as the selection panel shortlisted 36 candidates for the six positions of commissioners.
The selection panel, chaired by Bernadette Musundi, has set the interviews for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to run from November 28 to December 15. After the interviews, the selection committee will give President
Uhuru Kenyatta two names for chairperson and nine names for commissioners.
Going by the timelines in the IEBC Act, the earliest Parliament can vet the seven nominees the President will settle on is the last week of December.
MPs will have to cut short their holiday, which starts on December 1, to deal with the vetting of the seven commissioners. The selection panel last week shortlisted five candidates for chairperson among the 36 candidates chosen from 760 people who applied for the jobs.
The panel set a target of November 30 to put the new commission in place, but the timelines could not be met due to legal reasons and the large number of applicants.
The opposition, which agitated for the vacation of office by the current commissioners, has been complaining that Issack Hassan and his team should not be carrying out the commission’s business.
The five shortlisted for chairperson are Margaret Shava (Kiambu), Roseline Odede (Kisumu), Mutakha Kangu (Kakamega), David Mereka (Murang’a) and David Malakwen (Nandi).
They will be interviewed for both the positions of chairperson and members on November 28 and 29, while the other 31 will be interviewed from December 1.