• The vacancies were occasioned by the resignation of Roselyne Akombe, Connie Nkatha, Margaret Mwachanya and Paul Kurgat.
• They resigned soon after the disputed August 8, 2017 General Election.
The recruitment of commissioners for the vacant IEBC slots will take longer after senators and members of Parliament clashed over a Bill that stipulates how the vacancies will be filled.
The crucial Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2019 provides the framework for the recruitment of commissioners whenever vacancies occur.
The IEBC has, for more than two years, operated with only three commissioners – Wafula Chebukati (chairman), Abdi Guliye and Boya Mulu – due to lack of the modalities to replace Roselyne Akombe, Connie Nkatha, Margaret Mwachanya and Paul Kurgat.
The four resigned soon after the disputed August 8, 2017, general elections.
The proposed law provides the mechanism for the formation of a selection panel that will recruit the commissioners of the electoral agency.
It says vacancies will be advertised, candidates shortlisted, interviews conducted and successful applicants recommended to the President for appointment.
However, the legislators differed over the proposed law after senators introduced and approved a raft of amendments to the version approved by MPs.
The National Assembly passed the Bill last September after a heated debate marked by drama and shouting matches between Deputy President William Ruto's allies and those of ODM leader Raila Odinga.
The Bill is as such headed for mediation, a process that will further delay the refilling of the positions at a time the country is gearing for a referendum and the 2020 General Election.
This also comes as the commission is preparing to carry out a review of electoral boundaries and to conduct several by-elections.
The Building Bridges Initiative report has recommended a complete overhaul of the commission, arguing that the current commissioners and the secretariat do not enjoy public confidence.
According to the amendments introduced by Senate Majority leader Samuel Poghisio, the Senate has reduced the number of panellists from 11 to seven as passed by their National Assembly colleagues last year.
They include two men and two women nominated by the Parliamentary Service Commission and one person picked by the Law Society of Kenya and two nominated by the Inter-Religious Council of Kenya.
This is a complete departure from the Bill passed in the National Assembly that had proposed an 11-member panel made up of persons nominated by Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, Public Service Commission and Central Organisation of Trade Unions, Parliamentary Service Commission and Law Society of Kenya.
Further, Poghisio has introduced qualifications for panels, a condition that was captured in the Bill approved by MPs.
The panellists must be Kenyan citizens, meet the requirements of the leadership and integrity chapter of the Constitution and hold degrees from a university recognised in Kenya.
- mwaniki fm