Panel chief explains selection criteria

The panel mandated to select members of a new electoral commission has defended itself against accusations of political influence.

Every applicant was given a chance during the selection process, according to the Independent Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Selection Panel chairman Ekuru Aukot.

“There’s no political interest at all. We only applied provisions from the Constitution. We will never satisfy everyone,” he told the Nation. (READ:Shortlist for new electoral team faulted)

The panel, he said, used three steps to pick the 44 candidates out of 427 applicants.

In the first stage, all applicants were subjected to preliminary qualifications as set out in section 6(2) of the IEBC Act, besides checking whether they had followed the application procedure to the letter.

Dr Aukot explained that this stage saw 127 candidates dropped before the rest were vetted based on technicalities, general knowledge and integrity.

Here, the panel remained with 121 who were taken through gender and merit examinations. Only 44 qualified at this stage, he said. The explanation comes amid mounting pressure from section of MPs who have demanded that the applicants be shortlisted afresh.

On Sunday, Eldoret North MP William Ruto led other legislators in demanding an explanation.

“The selection panel must either redo the process or explain to us how less qualified persons were selected over the more qualified,” he said in Nairobi.

Among applicants for the position of commissioners to the IEBC were eight members of the Interim Independent Electoral Commission. Only three — Dr Yusuf Nzibo, Mr Abiud Simiyu and Mr Ken Nyaundi — were shortlisted for interviews.

On Monday, Mr Mohammed Affey, the chairman of the House Committee on Equal Opportunities declared that he would mobilise MPs to reject nominees from the panel if it did not reflect merit and regional balance.

“We cannot reverse the panel’s decision but I think it would have been fair since they (the five) were all qualified,” he said.

But some lawyers have come to the defence of the panel, saying it followed the law.

“The panel was acting as per the law in order to come up with the list,” said constitutional lawyer Kibe Mungai.

Another lawyer, Mr Paul Mwangi, observed that the panel was independent and it was up to itself to decide whether to relist the candidates or not.

The Rev (rtd) Timothy Njoya told the Nation that arguments by MPs opposed to the list were baseless. He said they did not respect the work of the panel.

“The accusation that panel is supporting a particular political side does not hold. I think we have a group of politicians who are just looking for ways of discriminating others,” he said.

The 44 will be interviewed from September 26 to October 10.