Catholic Church nominee Bernadette Musundi to chair IEBC select panel

Bernadette Musundi elected as chairlady of IEBC selection panel

Bernadette Musundi of the Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops has been elected chairperson of the panel that will select the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) commissioners.

The chairman of the Supreme Council of Muslims in Kenya, Abdulghafur El-Busaidy, will be the vice-chairman of the nine-member recruitment team.

Other members are Rev Canon Peter Karanja, the secretary-general of the National Council of Churches of Kenya, and Bishop David Oginde, representing Evangelical Churches of Kenya.

The Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) is represented by lawyer Evans Monari while Mary Kigen will represent the ruling Jubilee coalition and retired judge Tom Mbaluto and Ogla Chepkemoi Karani will appear for the opposition Cord.

Hindu Council representative Rajesh Rawal withdrew from the committee just before they were sworn in on Wednesday by Chief Justice David Maraga.

CREDIBLE LEADERS

Ms Musundi said her team would try its best to give Kenyans credible leaders that will command Kenyans’ confidence as they take charge of the next general election.

“We shall be very transparent in what we do. We will try hard to listen and make the right judgement,” Ms Musundi said.

The selection panel is expected within seven days of its swearing in to invite interested applicants to apply for the positions of the commission’s chairperson and commissioners.

The new commission will be composed of the chairman and six commissioners recruited and vetted through a competitive process.

The selection panel will present 11 names to President Uhuru Kenyatta — two for the position of chairperson and nine for the commissioners.

The President will pick seven from the 11 — one chairperson and six full-time commissioners — with the approval of Parliament.

Ahmed Issack Hassan, who led the IEBC, and eight other commissioners will, however, remain in office until a new team takes over later in the year.

This is meant to ensure there is no vacuum in the commission as that would set the stage for a constitutional crisis.