Search for a fresh polls team starts

The chairman of thae Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission, Issack Hassan (left), leads the body's commissioners out of Parliament Buildings after striking a deal on their exit on August 3, 2016. The search for new electoral commissioners has begun, after the selection panel advertised the vacant positions in the commission. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

By  ISAAC ONGIRI

What you need to know:

  • The application for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission chairperson and commissioners’ positions will be open for 14 days, with the deadline set for November 7.
  • The position of the chairperson has been set aside for a lawyer qualified to be a judge of the Supreme Court.
  • Candidates seeking the positions of chairperson and member of the commission will only be required to hold degrees from institutions recognised by Kenyan authorities.
  • The new commissioners will only hold office for a single term of six years which makes the possibility of conducting two elections very minimal.

The search for new electoral commissioners has finally begun, after the selection panel advertised the vacant positions in the commission.

The application for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson and commissioners’ positions will be open for 14 days, with the deadline set for November 7.

The position of the chairperson has been set aside for a lawyer qualified to be a judge of the Supreme Court.

Also Read

“The applicant for the position of the chairperson must have at least 15 years’ experience as a superior court judge or 15 years’ experience as a distinguished academic, judicial officer, legal practitioner or such experience in other relevant legal field,” read part of the advert by the panel.

Candidates seeking the positions of chairperson and member of the commission will only be required to hold degrees from institutions recognised by Kenyan authorities.

The panel is interested in individuals with backgrounds on electoral matters, management, finance, governance. public administration and law.

SINGLE TERM

The new commissioners will only hold office for a single term of six years which makes the possibility of conducting two elections very minimal.

Said the panel: “The chairperson and members of the IEBC shall be appointed for a single term of six years, shall serve on a full time basis and shall not be eligible for reappointment.”

Even as the panel continued with the process of appointing the new polls team yesterday, IEBC initiated the procurement of vital electoral materials in readiness for next year’s General Election.

The commission is seeking to purchase over 20,000 ballot boxes to replace damaged ones and to take care of additional polling centres.

“We have increased polling centres to 56,000 so we will require additional ballot boxes,” said the IEBC communications manager Andrew Limo.

Despite the ongoing transition, Mr Limo said work was in progress and the outgoing commissioners were ensuring operations did not stall.

The new elections law might alter the commission’s budget as the team has introduced some requirements that will need funding.

In the headlines