This archive report was first published on 15 July 2020.
Published on July 15, 2020, a disagreement has emerged between the National Assembly and the Senate over the number of persons to be appointed to a panel that will fill four vacancies at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
The Senate amended the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Bill 2019, reducing the number proposed by the National Assembly from 11 to seven.
According to Samuel Poghisio, the Leader of Majority in the Senate, the Selection Panel shall consist of two men and two women nominated by the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), one person by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), and two picked by the Inter-religious Council of Kenya.
The National Assembly Committee on Delegated Legislation had proposed that the panel comprise four persons nominated by PSC, while Public Service Commission, the LSK, Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, Kenya National Commission on Human Rights, National Gender and Equality Commission, the Attorney-General, and Inter-religious Council of Kenya nominate one representative each.
The First Schedule of the IEBC Act, 2016 stipulates that the Selection Panel consist of nine members – four nominated by PSC and five by religious groups.
There are currently four vacancies for commissioners at the IEBC after the resignation of vice chairperson Cornie Nkatha Maina and commissioners Paul Kurgat and Margaret Mwachanya in 2018, leaving chairman Wafula Chebukati and commissioners Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu in office. Commissioner Roselyne Akombe resigned prior to the October 26, 2017 repeat presidential election.
