President William Ruto on Monday assented to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Amendment Bill, 2022.
This paves way for the composition of the panel to recruit new commissioners noting that six slots are up for grabs.
Wafula Chebukati and commissioners - Boya Molu and Abdi Guliye- retired last week on Tuesday after serving for six years as provided for in the constitution.
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.
Section 7A (2) of the IEBC Act provides that the President shall declare a vacancy in the commission within seven days of the occurrence of a vacancy in the office of the chairperson or a member of the commission.
Last week, 28 Senators voted to accept the Bill while seven were against it as they wanted some amendments included.
The IEBC Bill seeks to change the composition of the selection panel that oversees the filling of vacant positions in the Commission.
It is sponsored by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah and was passed in the House in 2022.
The Bill proposes the Parliamentary Service Commission should have two slots, the Inter-Religious Council of Kenya two and one slot each for the Public Service Commission, Political Parties Liaison Committee and Law Society of Kenya.
In the current law, PSC had four slots in the panel.
The members were picked by parliamentary parties from the majority and minority parties.
