The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Selection Panel on Friday, April 25, denied accusations that it had sneaked in six additional names in the list of candidates for interviews.
According to the Panel’s Chair, Nelson Makanda, the names of the additional candidates were published to ensure transparency and further invited any legal action seeking to dispute the Panel’s stand.
While speaking after the conclusion of interviews for candidates interested in the Commissioner position, Makanda told off critics who questioned the Panel’s competence, asserting that it had conducted every process by the book.
“It is important to note that on the 25th (of March), the selection panel further reviewed the long list and decided to update the shortlist to include 111 candidates. This action was taken to enhance compliance with the constitutional principles of regional balance, youth representation, and overall inclusivity,” Makanda stated.
The recruitment process faced scrutiny after it emerged that six new candidates had been added to the shortlist for the chairperson and commissioner positions. This sparked concerns about the transparency and legality of the process, triggering reactions from legal experts and politicians.
Previously, the selection panel had shortlisted 105 candidates to be interviewed for the positions of Chairperson and members. However, this number later rose to 111.
“The democratic space has opened up for everyone, and we celebrate that democratic space. As far as we know, we have conducted this process according to the law. We have paid serious fidelity to the requirements of the law,” he asserted.
The inclusion of the six candidates prompted a reaction from the Elections Observation Group (ELOG), who expressed their concern over the mysterious addition.
"While noting that the panel did communicate on the increase and the general reasons behind it, concerns remain on the procedure used to select the additional names and raises questions as to why this criterion was not employed from the beginning as directed by the relevant laws and regulations," a statement from ELOG said.
In their list of demands, ELOG called on the IEBC selection panel to publicly explain the process used to bring in the six new applicants.
ELOG further urged the panel to come up with a comprehensive response on the addition of fresh interviewees, since the appointment of new commissioners is a time-sensitive exercise.
The interviews for the 11 shortlisted applicants for the position of chairperson were conducted from March 24 and concluded on March 26. Candidates for the position of commissioner were interviewed from March 27 to April 25.
Consequently, the Panel is set to retreat before forwarding a list of 11 nominees to President William Ruto by May 9.
