As Kenyans stream to various polling stations to cast their votes on Tuesday, August 9, top officials from the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will play supervision and management roles.
Other than the role played by IEBC chairperson Wafula Chebukati, the other eight play a pivotal role in making the polls a success.
They include Michael Ouma, the new ICT Director who took the role of the slain businessman, Chris Musando, and Marjan Hussein who replaced Ezra Chiloba.
Others include Juliana Cherera, Francis Wanderi, Justus Nyang'awa, Irene Masit, Abdi Yakub Guliye and Boya Mulu.
Michael Ouma
He is the ICT Director appointed to replace Chris Msando who was murdered before the 2017 General election.
Ouma has over 20 years of experience in the IT industry and another 10 years of experience in elections technology projects management and implementation.
He is a member of the Kenya Institute of Management and Computer Society of Kenya.
He pursued his Master of Business Administration from the University of Nairobi.
His role will be central in ensuring the online transmission of presidential results.
Marjan Hussein
Marjan Hussein Marjan was appointed IEBC CEO following the acrimonious exit of Ezra Chiloba in October 2018.
The new CEO holds an MBA in Strategic Management from UoN. He is also a certified public accountant as well as a certified public audit officer.
Marjan's role in the polls includes managing the Secretariat. The secretariat is composed of the following: the CEO, who is the Secretary of the Secretariat, two deputy Commission secretaries, nine directors, 24 managers, 47 county election managers and 290 constituency election coordinators.
The secretariat manages the day-to-day activities of the commission
Juliana Cherera
Cherera is the Vice Chairperson of IEBC. She has over 18 years of experience in Education and Management in the public sector.
Before landing the IEBC job, Cherera worked as Chief Officer Executive in the Strategic Delivery Unit of the Mombasa County Government.
She had been a member of the Mombasa County Emergency Household Relief and Nutrition Support Project Coordination Committee. She was also the Mombasa County Economic Recovery and Legacy Strategy secretary.
The holder of a master's degree in Education, Leadership and Educational Management from Kenya Methodist University, chairs the Voter Education, Partnerships and Stakeholders Engagement Committee.
Francis Wanderi
Wanderi is an IEBC commissioner. He has over 32 years in senior management within public and private institutions characterised by integrity and high performance.
He is the former Chairperson of EPZ and director of Roots Credit Limited.
At IEBC, he chairs the Finance and Supply Chain Management Committee.
He holds a Master of Science in Management (MSc. Mgmt.); from Arthur D. Little Management Institute in Boston, USA and a Bachelor of Education from UoN.
Justus Nyang'awa
Nyang’aya has over 32 years of experience in Strategic Leadership, Governance and Social Accountability Organisations.
Before joining the electoral agency, Nyang'awa was the director of Lead Africa, an organisation working for the Qualification of African Managers.
Nyang'awa is also the former Country Director of Amnesty International Kenya. Amnesty Kenya’s work concentrates on the prevention of forced evictions, the protection of housing rights and women’s rights.
The holder of Master of Arts (M.A) Education from the Institute of Education, University of London (IOE), chairs the Information and Communication Technology Committee.
Irene Masit
Masit chairs the electoral agency's legal Compliance and Political Party Liaison Committee and the Leadership and Integrity Committee.
She has over 25 years of work experience and knowledge in Government and Non – Governmental Organisations.
Masit is the immediate former board member at the National Government Constituency Development Fund (NGCDF).
The holder of a Master’s degree in Strategic Human Resource Management from the University of Manchester has knowledge and experience in Finance, Governance, Management and Public Administration.
Abdi Guliye
Guliye chairs the Election Operations, Research and Boundary Delimitation Committee.
He has over 27 years of university teaching experience, of which, in the last seven years, he had additional administrative and managerial roles.
Guliye has served on various boards of organizations, having chaired committees such as Audit Risk Management and Finance.
He holds a PhD in Animal Nutrition from Rowett Research Institute/the University of Aberdeen, Scotland.
Boya Mulu
Boya Mulu is among the IEBC commissioners. He chairs the Human Resource, Administration and Training Committee.
He has over 15 years of experience in Human Resource Management and administration, mainly in the public sector.
Before joining IEBC, Boya worked in various capacities at the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK) and the Judiciary.
Boya holds a Master’s in Business Administration (HR Management Option), Periyar University from India.
Wafula Chebukati
He is the chairperson of the electoral agency. He will be tasked with announcing the final results of the Presidential election.
Chebukati has over 36 years of experience in legal practice.
Besides his role at IEBC, Chebukati is the President of the Association of African Election Authorities’ General Assembly.
The nine will play a central role in ensuring a smooth transition from the current regime to the next one.
