The race for the next chairperson of the electoral commission has reportedly narrowed to four candidates as the selection committee works around the clock to meet the deadline.
Multiple sources within the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) selection panel recruiting the chairperson told the Nation that Mr Erastus Edung Ethekon (Turkana), Mr Abdulqadir Lorot Ramadhan (Baringo), Ms Anne Amadi (Homa Bay) and Mr Charles Nyachae (Kisii) are leading the pack of 11 who were interviewed for the position.
“We will definitely choose two names from the four and forward to the President, from which he will nominate one and transmit it to the National Assembly for vetting,” said a member of the selection panel.
The revelation was corroborated by another member of the panel that is finalising interviews for commission members. The nine-member IEBC selection panel is set to conclude the interviews today.
Erastus Edung Ethekon, a candidate for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson position.
Photo credit: Dennis Onsongo| Nation Media Group
Other than conducting the 2027 General Election, the reconstituted commission is required to undertake the delayed electoral boundaries delimitation and various by-elections.
The Nation established that from the four nominees, Mr Raila Odinga’s party reportedly favours Mr Ethekon, 48, a lawyer, or Mr Ramadhan, a serving chief magistrate in Naivasha Law Courts, in that order.
However, President William Ruto’s UDA wants either Ms Amadi 60, the immediate former Registrar of the Judiciary, or Mr Nyachae, 67, the former chairperson of the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution.
“Our party ODM signed a cooperation agreement with President Ruto’s UDA government. We are talking to them on the need of either having Mr Ethekon or Mr Ramadhan lead the commission,” a senior figure within the ODM party said.
“Mr Ethekon and Mr Ramadhan are fairly young and can perform well as demonstrated during the interviews. Ms Amadi and Mr Nyachae have had their chance in public service and its only fair that others also get the opportunity to serve,” the official said.
The IEBC Act states that after conducting interviews, the selection panel shall select two persons qualified for chairperson and nine qualified to be appointed as members of the commission and forward the names to the President. The President shall, from the list, nominate one person for appointment as the chairperson and six for appointment as members of the commission. The law requires that the President, within seven days of receipt of the names, forwards the list of nominees to the National Assembly for approval hearings.
Members of the IEBC selection panel in a group photo with Chief Justice Martha Koome.
Photo credit: Pool
The amended IEBC Act states that the selection panel shall finalise the recruitment exercise within 90 days of its appointment. However, the law allows Parliament, by a resolution passed in both the National Assembly and Senate, to extend the tenure of the panel “for a specified period”.
Towards the end of March, the two Houses approved the resolution to extend the mandate of the selection panel by a further 14 days.
Constitutional requirements
The delayed reconstitution of the commission has seen constitutional requirements of delimitation of electoral boundaries and by-election in various electoral areas delayed, thus violating the supreme law.
Mr Johan Kriegler, the South African retired judge who chaired the Independent Review Commission on the 2007 elections, recommended that IEBC commissioners must be in office at least two years before a general election. This is so as to allow them to be trained in good time to start preparations that include recruitment of suitable staff and procuring election materials.
Former Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Atieno Amadi.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
The six-year non-renewable term of immediate former IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati and two commissioners—Mr Boya Molu and Abdi Guliye—ended in January 2023. Three other commissioners—Vice-Chairperson Juliana Cherera, Justus Nyangaya and Francis Wanderi—opted to resign rather than face a tribunal that was established to investigate their conduct immediately after the August 9, 2022 General Election.
Their colleague, Irene Masit, who opted to face the tribunal was removed by President Ruto following the recommendation of the tribunal.
Among the constituencies that have no MPs include Banissa, which was left vacant after MP Hassan Kullow died in a road accident on March 29, 2023. There is also Magarini, which fell vacant after the Supreme Court on May 31, 2024, upheld the nullification of the election of Mr Harrison Kombe.
The appointment to Cabinet of former Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi also necessitated a by-election. Mbeere North MP Geoffrey Ruku was recently nominated to Cabinet to replace Mr Justin Muturi as Public Service Cabinet secretary.
The replacement of former nominated MP John Mbadi, who was also appointed to the Cabinet, also requires a fully constituted IEBC.
