President Ruto Signs IEBC Bill 2022 Into Law

President William Ruto has signed the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Bill 2022 into law.

Consequently, the Head of State is set to form a seven-member selection panel to recruit the IEBC Chairperson and six commissioners.

The Bill was passed by the Senate on Thursday and sought to alter the composition of the Selection Panel that oversees the filling of vacant positions in the commission.

The positions were left vacant after the term of Chairperson Wafula Chebukati and commissioners; Boya Molu and Abdi Guliye ended on Tuesday, January 17 after serving for six years as provided for in the constitution.

The other 4 commissioners Commissioners; Juliana Cherera, Justus Nyangáya and Francis Wanderi resigned in the wake of their suspension and formation of a tribunal to investigate their conduct in the August 9, 2022 General Election, while Irene Masit is still battling charges facing her in the tribunal.

Signing of the bill into law means the allocation of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) will reduce from the current four to two out of the seven members of the panel.

Additionally, the Political Parties Liaison Committee (PPLC), Public Service Commission (PSC), and the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) will each nominate one member to the Panel.

The Parliamentary Service Commission and the Inter-religious Council of Kenya will each have two members, a man and a woman.

For one to qualify as a member of the selection panel, they must be a Kenyan citizen, meet the requirements of leadership and integrity as provided for in the Chapter Six of the constitution, and have a degree from a university recognized in Kenya.

The Senate passed the bill without amendments after Justice and Legal Affairs Committee Chairperson Hillary Sigei withdrew his proposed amendments.

The committee had proposed to reduce the number of slots given to the PSC in the selection panel from two to one and increase those of the PPLC to two from one.

The Senators also rejected an amendment by nominated Senator Catherine Mumma who intended to take away the slot given to the PSC and donate it to the PPLC.

Now, Head of Public Service Felix Koskey is expected to invite them to submit their nominees to the panel so that the president can appoint them in a Gazette notice.

The panel will, upon inauguration, invite applications from Kenyans who meet the requirements to be members of the seven-member commission.