In her end of assignment report, former IEBC Commissioner Roselyn Akombe dissected the institutional weaknesses that eventually came to bear in the conduct of the disputed and nullified 2017 presidential polls.
At the centre of her argument was the appointment of “politically correct” individuals as managers of the country’s elections, despite having zero expertise in electoral management.
On July 14, President Uhuru Kenyatta declared vacant the positions of four former IEBC commissioners, setting in motion a fresh recruitment. This is an opportunity to correct previous mistakes.
However, it’s sad that there are already reports of behind-the-scene intrigues of political scheming by leaders to have stranglehold over the recruitment panel. The idea is to have politically friendly individuals who will do their bidding as IEBC commissioners. This is unacceptable.
Kenyan politicians must be called out to put country before self. A partisan electoral agency will be a recipe for chaos, with the general election coming in 14 months. Kenyans deserve the best.
The recruiting panel should give Kenyans individuals whose ethical and moral integrity is beyond reproach. They, too, must have demonstrated experience in electoral processes. But above all, they should not be people beholden to the political elite.
We call on the players from Parliament to the President to give merit a chance.
