Wednesday, March 2, 2011

New electoral body bill heads to House

The Chairman of the Parliamentary Justice and Legal Affairs Committee Ababu Namwamba said March 1, 2011 that he expects to table the Electoral Act Bill in Parliament on March 17. FILE
The Chairman of the Parliamentary Justice and Legal Affairs Committee Ababu Namwamba said March 1, 2011 that he expects to table the Electoral Act Bill in Parliament on March 17. FILE  
By OLIVER MATHENGE, omathenge@ke.nationmedia.comPosted Wednesday, March 2 2011 at 11:39

A bill to establish the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is expected before Parliament this month. The enactment of the new law will see the establishment of the new electoral body by April.
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This was agreed on at a three-day stakeholders workshop that ended on Tuesday in Naivasha.
The workshop brought together members of the Interim Independent Electoral Commission, the Legal Affairs Committee, the Commission for Implementation of the new Constitution, the Ministry of Justice and the Kenya Law Reform Commission.
The workshop agreed to adopt the draft produced by the IIEC and KLRC, which is in favour of advertising for the positions.
Legal Affairs Committee Chairman Ababu Namwamba said that he expected to table the Electoral Act Bill in Parliament on March 17, after which the body should be established 14 days after the law is enacted.
The appointment of the IEBC Commissioners will be competitive before they are presented to the President and Prime Minister and later to Parliament for approval. Four of the nine positions will however be reserved for the Commissioners who have served at the IIEC and the defunct Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission.
Article 28(2) of the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution states: “When members of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission are selected, regard shall be had to the need for continuity and the retention of expertise and experience.”
Mr Namwamba did not indicate how many commissioners will be retained from each of the Commissions to fill the four positions. They will, however, have to apply for the positions. Each of the Commissions had nine members.
Mr Namwamba urged Parliament to publish the Bill in the shortest time possible which will guide the recruitment process. The new commission, he added, will hire the CEO of the electoral body will be recruited by the new commission.
A recruitment panel will undertake the short-listing of the IEBC commissioners and will comprise six persons – five from the Parliamentary Service Commission and one from the Judicial Service Commission. The panelists will be vetted by Parliament before they embark on the recruitment exercise.
“The Constitution has set some minimum thresholds that have to be met. These include occupation of a third of the positions by any gender and also public participation. All positions must be advertised as per the Constitution of Kenya so that every Kenyan should be given an opportunity to serve the country,” Mr Namwamba said.
The IIEC chaired by Issack Hassan took over from the defunct Electoral Commission of Kenya after the bungled 2007 election.
The IIEC has been credited with effective management of the August 2010 referendum, as well as the eight parliamentary by-elections that have taken place.
In April 2010, the IIEC introduced electronic voter registration and also put up a system for electronic voter tallying and transmission which has been used in all the by-elections and the referendum.
Its setting up was through competitive advertising where the then Parliamentary Select Committee on Constitutional Review received shortlists from a private recruitment firm. The names were then approved by Parliament and then gazetted for appointment by the President.

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