President William Ruto on Monday assented to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Amendment Bill, 2022.
This now paves the way for the next steps towards filling the seven slots of Commissioners and that of the chairperson
By signing the IEBC Amendment Bill, 2022, this means President Ruto is set to form a seven-member selection panel to recruit the IEBC chairman and six commissioners.
The new-look selection panel shall include two nominees one man and one woman from the Parliamentary Service Commission down from four in the repealed law.
The panel will also have one person nominated each by the Public Service Commission (PSC), the Political Parties Liaison Committee, the Law Society of Kenya and two persons- a man and a woman representing the Inter-Religious Council of Kenya.
According to the law, to be a member of the selection panel, one ought to be a Kenyan citizen and meets the requirements of leadership and integrity as provided for in Chapter Six of the constitution.
They also ought to hold a degree from a recognized Kenyan university.
Once inaugurated, the panel will have the task of inviting applications from Kenyans who meet the requirements to be members of the seven-member commission.
The law further states that the selection panel shall consist of seven persons for the appointment of the chairperson or member of the commission.
Vacancy in the office of chairperson and members
Section 7A of the IEBC Act provides that the office of the chairperson or a member of the Commission shall become vacant if the holder dies, resigns from office by notice in writing addressed to the President or is removed from office under any of the circumstances specified in Article 251 and Chapter Six of the Constitution.
The President shall then publish a notice of a vacancy in the Gazette within seven days of the occurrence of such vacancy.
Former IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati and former commissioners Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu were appointed on January 18, 2017, seven months before the August 8, 2017 election.
Their six-year term ended on January 19.
The other three commissioners Juliana Cherera, Justus Nyangáya and Francis Wanderi resigned in the wake of their suspension and formation of a Tribunal to investigate their conduct in the August 9, 2022, general election.
Therefore, today is the last day of the seven days and it is expected that a gazette notice will be published about the vacancy.
