Dr Roselyn Akombe unexpectedly resigned from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) in a letter that emerged on Wednesday morning.
Her official resignation from the electoral commission has created an array of questions, given that her letter was not addressed to President Uhuru Kenyatta.
According to the IEBC Act that governs existence and operations of the electoral body, the office of the Chairperson or any of the Commissioners is only declared vacant on three instances.
[caption caption="Dr Roselyn Akombe during a past IEBC meeting"]
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First, if the office bearer dies. Second, if he/she is removed from office according to the law and third, through a written resignation letter addressed to the President.
The law further prescribes that as soon as any of this arises, the President is required to publish a notice of vacancy in the Kenya Gazette within seven days.
Following the notice, a recruitment exercise should ensue to find a qualified candidate to replace the removed office bearer.
Dr Akombe's resignation comes a week to the scheduled October 26 repeat presidential election.
President Kenyatta is yet to acknowledge receipt of the Commissioner's resignation, however, he has maintained that the repeat poll will be held as planned.
Also Read: IEBC Commissioner Roselyn Akombe Quits
[caption caption="IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati accompanied by other IEBC officials"]
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The IEBC Act of 2011 holds that: "The Commission shall be properly constituted notwithstanding a vacancy in its membership."
This may indicate that the Commission is free to operate and make decisions concerning the repeat election even with Dr Akombe's exit.
Also Read: Commissioner Akombe Reveals Huge Division in IEBC
