President William Ruto is set to form a seven-member selection panel to recruit the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairman and six commissioners.
This is after the signing of the IEBC Amendment Bill into Law after the senate okayed the bill last week as passed by the National Assembly without any changes.
The selection panel will include two nominees, a man and a woman, from the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) down from four in the repealed law.
The panel will also have one person each nominated by the PSC, the Political Parties Liaison Committee (PPLC), the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and two people, a man and a woman, representing the Inter-Religious Council of Kenya (IRCK).
The constitution states that a person qualified to be a member of the selection panel if the person is a Kenyan citizen, meets the requirements of leadership and integrity as provided for in the Chapter Six of the Constitution and holds a degree from a recognized University in Kenya.
The Head of Public Service Felix Koskey will officially notify the nominating bodies of the development and invite them to submit their nominees to the panel in order for the President to appoint them through a gazette notice.
The panel will invite applications from Kenyans who meet the requirements to be members of the seven-member commission.
This follows the retirement of IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati and commissioners Boya Molu and Abdi Guliye after serving at the commission for six non-renewable terms.
The resignation of ex-vice chairperson Juliana Cherera and commissioners Irene Masit, David Wanderi, Justus Nyangaya and Francis Wanderi also prompted vacancies.
Commissioner Irene Masit who was also part of the “Cherera 4” opted to face a tribunal formed by President Ruto to investigate their conduct during the release of the August 9,2022 presidential election results.