Six lawyers and a judge are among 13 applicants to chair the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to prepare for and oversee the 2017 election.
IEBC Selection Committee
yesterday also released a list of 765 people who have applied for the six commissioners' posts.
"As a result of the unprecedented number of applications received, the consolidation of all applications has taken a considerably longer time than anticipated,"committee chairperson
Bernadette Musundi said.
"Upon the conclusion of the consolidation and collation of the applications received, the Selection Panel shall publish the names of all applicants and their qualifications in the Gazette, in two newspapers of national circulation and on the website of the Parliamentary Service Commission," Musundi said.
Two names will be submitted to the President, who will nominate one as chairman. He will receive nine names and nominate six commissioners.
High court judge Justice Anyara Emukule, set to retire from the Judiciary in December, is among those who have applied to replace Issack Hassan as IEBC boss.
Lawyer Mutakha Kangu, reported to have been part of Cord leader Raila Odinga's kitchen cabinet in 2013, also applied for the top job.
Kangu chaired the Task Force on Devolved Government that drafted the laws to enact devolution after the new Constitution was enacted in 2010.
Lawyer Roseline Odede, who was the vice chair of the Judges and Magistrates Vetting Board, is also in the race to chair the IEBC.
Former commissioner with the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission Margaret Shava is the other lawyer seeking the position.
Shava sought to become chair of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission last year but the position went to Philip Kinisu.
Andrew Franklin, a former US Marine-turned-security consultant; David Malakwen, a former Kenya Commercial Bank Company secretary; and
Kajiado County Service Board Chairman Tentemo Ole Moyaki have also applied for chairmanship.
Others are accountants Joshua Kamwere,
Michael Mugo, Vincent Opar, Musoma Munubi and lawyers David Mereka and Murshid Abdalla.
Abdalla had been interviewed for the post in 2011 when Issack Hassan was appointed.
Seven former ambassadors and two IEBC directors are among the 765 applicants in the race for the six positions of IEBC members.
Former Industralisation PS Phillip Owade, former ambassador to Russia Paul Kibiwott Kurgat and former Permanent Representative of Kenya to the UN Office in Geneva and the World Trade Organization John Kakonga are among the seven former envoys.
Others are former ambassador to Burundi Benjamin Mweri, former ambassador to Egypt Daniel Makdwallo and former ambassador to Nigeria David Mutemi.
IEBC's director for Voter Registration and Electoral Affairs Immaculate Kassait and former IEBC director of ICT Dismas Ongondi are the two insiders who want to be commissioners.
Transparency International-Kenya Executive Director Samuel Kimeu, former Independent Policing Oversight Authority board member Tom Kagwe, radio journalist and Kajiado County Government Media Relations Officer Lilian Lelei have applied.
Others include lawyer Soyinka Lempaa, human rights activist Cyprian Nyamwamu, commissioner of Insurance Sammy Makove and Wilson Songa, the former Devolution secretary.
Also on the list are National Council of Churches of Kenya member Dr Julius Karanja and former National Anti-Corruption Steering Committee director Polycarp Omolo Ochilo and (defunct) Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution commissioner Philemon Mwaisaka Wawaka.
The IEBC Selection Committee said it that next Wednesday it will publish the names of the applicants who metTuesday's deadline.
Musundi
added that after the publication of the applicants' names and
qualifications, they will shortlist the candidates.
"The Selection Panel will thereafter begin the shortlisting exercise and publish the shortlist. This advertisement will also invite the views of the public on the suitability of shortlisted candidates for a period of seven days," Musundi said.
This will be followed by public interviewing of the candidates, which will be broadcast on live TV.
“After conducting interviews, the selection panel shall select two persons qualified to be appointed as chairperson and nine persons qualified to be appointed as members of the commission and shall forward the names to the President for nomination of one person for appointment as the chairperson and six persons for appointment as members,” the law says.
Within seven days, the President will forward the list of nominees to the National Assembly for approval in accordance with the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act.
“The President shall, within seven days of receipt of the names approved by the National Assembly, by notice in the Gazette, appoint the chairperson and the members,” the law states.
The recruitment of the new commissioners arose from the enactment of amendments to the IEBC Act, which led to the resignation of the current ones.
This followed a negotiated process between Jubilee and Cord after the opposition held protests to demand the removal of the commissioners.