• The National Assembly has also invited views on the PSC (Amendment) Bill, 2019 which is seeking to prescribe the mandatory retirement age of 60 years.
• Views are also being sought on the Labour Relations (Amendment) Bill which sets requirements that trade unions must meet before calling a strike.
Image: JACK OWUOR
Members of the Public have been invited to present their views on a Bill seeking to reduce the number of IEBC Commissioners to five.
The Bill is among 10 that the National Assembly is seeking views on as part of public participation.
In a notice published in Thursday's dailies, the Clerk Michael Salai says that those interested have until May 15, to present their memoranda.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Bill is before the Constitutional Implementation Oversight Committee.
"It further seeks to provide for the selection panel existing in law to carry out the recruitment of the Chairperson and Commissioner whenever a vacancy arises in the Commission," the notice states.
The IEBC is currently operating with only the Chairperson and two other Commissioners after four others resigned.
ABOUT THE IEBC BILL
The Bill has already gone through the First Reading in the House and is now being subjected to public participation.
The Bill seeks to reduce the number of Commissioners of the IEBC from seven to five, including the Chairperson.
The Bill also seeks to provide for the procedure through which the Commission may resolve issues arising from delimitation of boundaries of constituencies and wards.
Just days before the October 26, 2017 repeat election, commissioner Roselyn Akombe resigned and fled the country saying she had received death threats.
In April last year, three others led by vice chair Consolata Nkatha resigned saying the chairman Wafula Chebukati had failed in offering IEBC leadership.
The other two are Paul Kurgat and Margaret Mwachanya.
Parliament has also invited views on another IEBC (Amendment) Bill which is seeking to amend the First Schedule of the Act to provide for a mechanism of appointing members of the Commission.
Currently, the Act lacks clarity on how IEBC positions are to be filled which has seen the positions remain vacant for over one year now.
If passed, the law will require the President, with the approval of Parliament, to appoint the 11-member selection panel which will operate on a permanent basis.
It will draw its membership from the Ethics and Anti- Corruption Commission (EACC), Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), Public Service Commission (PSC), Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU), and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK).
The National Assembly has also invited views on the Public Service Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2019 which is seeking to prescribe the mandatory retirement age of 60 years.
Views are also being sought on the Labour Relations (Amendment) Bill which sets requirements that trade unions must meet before calling a strike.
MPs are also seeking views on the amendment of the NHIF Act to provide for people to continue with the same standard of contribution after retirement.
Other Bills up for public participation are the Public Finance Management (Amendment) Bill, the Sectional Properties Bill, The National Drought Management Authority (Amendment) Bill.
Also in the list are the Public Service Bill, the Labour Relations Bill, and the Kenya Food and Drugs Authority Bill.