The reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has hit a stage, with multiple groups putting forward their representatives for the selection panel.

This follows President William Ruto’s signing of the IEBC Bill, which establishes a timeline for forming the selection panel. On July 22, National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula detailed the procedural timeline.

“Within 14 days of assent, we must have the selection panel in place,” he said.

Wetang’ula explained that the selection panel will consist of nine members, including representatives from the Parliamentary Service Commission, the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), the Inter-Religious Council of Kenya, the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK), and the Political Parties Liaison Committee (PPLC).

“The nominating agencies of the selection panel are the Parliamentary Service Commission, that is ourselves; we have already organized, and we are going to conduct interviews for the nominated candidate by the majority and the minority parties.”

“The inter-religious council is nominating two names, the Law Society of Kenya should give one nominee, the ICPAK should nominate one person, and the Political Parties Liaison Committee will be nominating three, one from parties not represented in Parliament and from parties that are represented in Parliament, the majority and minority coalition,” Wetang’ula explained.

To meet the 14-day deadline, the National Assembly Speaker indicated that the nominees’ names should have been submitted to Parliament by Friday, July 26, so they could be gazetted by Tuesday, July 30.

“We hope that by the close of the week, we shall have the selection panel ready to be sent to the president to appoint the chairman out of them and the rest to be gazetted not later than Tuesday this week,” the Speaker stated.

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Once formed, the panel has three months to finish the recruitment process and submit the names of the nominees for IEBC chairperson and commissioners to the President.

The Inter-Religious Council of Kenya has kept its previous nominees, Dr. Nelson Makanda and Fatuma Saman, while ICPAK will be represented by Andrew Tanui. The LSK and the National Assembly Speaker are yet to announce their nominees (to be updated).

Reconstituting the IEBC is a step toward improving accountability and ensuring fair representation in the country. Pressure has been increasing from various groups, including politicians, human rights organizations, and the Gen Z demographic, to speed up this process.

Gen Z advocates have been especially outspoken, stressing the need for mechanisms to recall Members of the National Assembly who do not fulfil their duties.

“Reconstituting the IEBC is long overdue. Some electoral units do not have representation, which is unfair to them. Again, we want an avenue to recall some of our MPs if they fail to deliver on their work,” the Gen Z advocates have insisted.

Human rights organizations and political parties have also joined in calling for the rapid reconstitution of the IEBC, emphasizing the importance of establishing a functional and accountable electoral body.