Tough questions await eight nominees of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) today as they face lawmakers for vetting as the country rushes against time to fill the void in the electoral agency.
The National Assembly Justice and Legal Affairs committee is expected to conduct the approval hearings with eyes on parliament on whether it will rise to the occasion and ask the tough questions to the nominees.
First to face the committee, chaired by Tharaka MP George Murugara, is Erastus Ethekon, who has been nominated to serve as the chairperson of the agency, taking over from the late Wafula Chebukati.
The immediate registrar of political parties, Anne Nderitu, will be second on the vetting order as the remaining ones are lined up to face the lawmakers between 10 am to 4:30 pm.
The nominees will be faced with doubts that have already been cast on them by the political class, who have raised questions about their relationship with other high-ranking government officials.
The vetting of the nominees comes at a time when the opposition had already warned against any partisan appointment of the commissioners without proper consultations.
“Any process that sidelines the opposition, or is limited to Kenya Kwanza Alliance and Orange Democratic Movement, will create a partisan IEBC and undermine public trust,” said Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka early this month.
The vetting of the nominees, which had stalled following a court order, will proceed after the lifting of the order restraining parliament from proceeding with the exercise.
The move to gag parliament from proceeding with the exercise on Thursday, with the speaker of the National Assembly issuing a stern warning against anyone preventing parliament from undertaking its constitutional duty.
"Parliament is a constitutionally established institution, clothed with the authority to discharge its constitutional functions. Once a matter is seized by Parliament, whether under consideration in a committee or in the plenary, the committee proceedings are deemed a mirror of the plenary. In both cases, the deliberations carry equal weight and legal standing." Mr Wetang’ula said.
Mr Wetang’ula on Thursday directed the Justice and Legal Affairs committee to continue with the vetting of the nominees, telling any aggrieved person to wait until completion of the process.
“I direct the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee to continue without any haste with the vetting of nominees of the IEBC, any aggrieved party can go to court after that,” Mr Wetang’ula said.
"Any party aggrieved by this process, whether within the Judiciary, the Executive, or among the general public, retains the right to seek redress through the courts, after Parliament has completed its official business,” added the speaker.
Minority leader Junet Mohamed said the practice of injucting parliament from doing its legislative work has become rampant.
“Parliament will not take it anymore, if a Bill has undergone first reading and public participation is already going, you must wait until the end of the consideration of the Bill then one can go to court otherwise if we go this route, then this House cannot do anything,” Mr Mohammed said.
Mr Mohamed said that the same way parliament cannot interfere with a matter before the court, is the same way the courts should also stop interfering with matters before parliament, either in the plenary or in committees.
“You cannot injunct parliament from doing its work. The same way we cannot legislate on a matter that is before the court,” Mr Mohammed said.
The High Court yesterday cleared the way for the National Assembly to proceed with the vetting and approval of nominees to the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
Judge Lawrence Mugambi lifted an earlier blanket order in which he had barred the National Assembly from proceeding with the vetting of the nominees to the post of IEBC Chairperson and six others for the position of Commissioners.
Justice Mugambi noted that the Petition had raised substantive matters of Law and referred the same to the Chief Justice to empanel a Bench of an uneven number of Judges to hear the same.
