Yesterday 36 candidates shortlisted for the four vacant positions on the IEBC took psychometric tests at the KICC in Nairobi (see P8).
This might seem unusual but it was an excellent move.
Employers have used aptitude testing since the mid-twentieth century to assess the intelligence, skills and personality of job applicants. Many Kenyans working in the formal sector may have taken the Myers Briggs personality tests. It is difficult to game or cheat the tests.
A commissioner of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission needs high intelligence and good technical skills to manage the data analysis and technology involved in modern elections.
More importantly, psychometric tests also evaluate the ability to work in a team and to cope with stress.
IEBC commissioners come under huge pressure from candidates demanding a particular result in elections. Soon they may also be pressurised to shape new constituencies in a particular way.
So if we want free and fair elections, we need IEBC commissioners who can stand firm under pressure and not be frightened of doing what is right. Hopefully, yesterday's psychometric tests at KICC will help to deliver us the brave and independent IEBC commissioners whom we need.
Quote of the day: "There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it's going to be a butterfly."
Buckminster Fuller
The American architect died on July 1, 1983
