NAIROBI, Kenya, Apr 16 –The search for the new Independent Electoral and Boundaries commissioners who will replace four commissioners who resigned after 2017 polls is set to begin in earnest after President Uhuru Kenyatta declared the positions vacant.
President Kenyatta declared the vacancies through special gazette notice dated April 14, 2021.
The vacancies arose after the resignation of Vice Chairperson Cornie Nkatha Maina and Commissioners Paul Kurgat and Margaret Mwachanya in 2018, leaving Chairperson Wafula Chebukati and commissioners Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu in office.
Commissioner Roselyne Akombe was the first commissioner to exit, having resigned prior to the October 26, 2017 repeat presidential election.
The IEBC Act establishes an electoral commission comprising seven commissioners, including the Chairperson.
The IEBC is not fully constituted despite the country staring at an imminent law reform referendum and the 2022 General Election.
Once the listing process is finalized, the President will receive four nominees from the Parliamentary Service Commission, one from the Law Society of Kenya and two from the Inter-Religious Council of Kenya.
The President signed into law the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2019, in 2020 paving the way for filling the five vacant positions at the electoral body.