NAIROBI, Kenya Aug 23 – The National Assembly will on Tuesday begin the approval hearings for all the four candidates who were nominated to serve as commissioners at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
The Justice and Legal Affairs Committee chaired by Kangema MP Muturi Kigano will grill Juliana Cherera, Francis Wanderi, Irene Masit, and Justus Nyang’aya who were nominated by President Uhuru Kenyatta on August 5, 2021, to serve in the commission.
The four were drawn from a pool of 36 Kenyans who were interviewed between July 7 and 22 by the IEBC Selection Panel to fill the four vacant positions at IEBC.
The seats fell vacant when ex-Commissioners Roselyn Akombe, Margaret Mwachanya, Paul Kurgat, and former Vice Chairperson Consolata Maina resigned from the Commission post-2017 general election.
All the 36 short-listed applicants were subjected to a psychometric test before the panel embarked on oral interviews of 35 candidates.
One candidate withdrew his candidature over concerns on his academic papers.
The Selection Panel chaired by Elizabeth Muli forwarded the names to President Kenyatta, who later nominated the four and subsequently forwarded the names to Parliament.
If approved, the four will join Chairperson Wafula Chebukati and Commissioners Boya Molu and Abdi Guliye.
The law requires the National Assembly to consider the nominations and table its report within 28 days.
Members of the commission, according to the law, are appointed for a single term of six years and shall not be eligible for re-appointment.
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