A new bill proposed by the ruling coalition to change the process of selecting electoral commissioners has sparked a new political feud between President William Ruto and Azimio leader Raila Odinga.
Lawmakers supporting Mr Odinga vowed yesterday to oppose the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2022, sponsored by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wa (Kikuyu).
While questioning the timing of the proposed changes, Azimio la Umoja One Kenya Coalition MPs described the bill, which seeks to change the composition of the IEBC selection panel, as an attempt by Dr Ruto to “capture” the electoral commission ahead of the 2027 General Election.
Kenya Kwanza Alliance lawmakers, on the other hand, insisted on expediting the proposed amendments to correct the biases created by the current law in order to ensure an inclusive process in the upcoming recruitment of replacements for IEBC chairman Wafula Chebukati and commissioners Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu, who are set to retire on January 17.
The ruling coalition lawmakers claimed that former President Uhuru Kenyatta and Mr Odinga bulldozed the current IEBC Act in order to exclude other political players from the recruitment of Vice-Chairperson Juliana Cherera and commissioners Irene Masit, Francis Wanderi, and Justus Nyang’aya in the run-up to the August 9 elections.
The bill, which is awaiting introduction on the House floor for the First Reading, seeks to reduce the current allocation of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), which appoints four of the panel’s seven members.
The bill proposes that the Public Service Commission nominates two members, down from the current four, while donating the other two slots to the Political Parties Liaison Committee and the Public Service Commission (PSC).
In the proposed amendments, the Law Society of Kenya and the Inter-religious Council of Kenya will retain one and two nominees, respectively.
