THREE candidates have emerged as front runners at the end of the vetting to select the chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission. The top three are the chairman of the Interim Independent Electoral Commission Isaack Hassan, international elections observer and constitutional lawyer Koki Muli, and former commissioner with the Interim Independent Boundaries Review Commission Murshid Abdalla Mohammed.
The Ekuru Aukot-chaired panel has retreated to Mombasa to deliberate on the interviewees and although it had not made a final decision, Hassan, Koki and Murshid have been fingered by experts as the main contenders. Eight candidates were shortlisted for the interviews which started last week and ended on Wednesday. Two of the eight candidates — Njenga Wakahiu and Kinuthia Mwangi Wamwangi — were rejected by the selection panel after the members expressed concerns about their integrity.
Wakahiu was disqualified after he was unable to explain why the Institute of Certified Public Secretaries of Kenya had deregistered him as a member. “I never joined them in the first place, I had applied to become a member but was told to consider membership either as a lawyer or a public secretary,” he said. Aukot had at the start of the interview notified Wakahiu that the ICPSK sent a letter to the panel indicating that he had been deregistered.
Another panel member, Justice Isaac Lenaola, had pointed out to Wakahiu that his own application letter indicated that he was a member of ICPSK, a fact Wakahiu denied. Wamwangi was disqualified because he was not tax-compliant. Other applicants shortlisted for interview included Kenyatta University lecturer Consolata Ngondi, city lawyer Onsando Osiemo and Anne Kariuki, a lawyer who is based in the United States.
Ngondi said electoral law is an area of human rights where she has practised for many years. Osiemo told the panel his strength lay in handling election petitions like the Webuye petition of 1993 where Musikari Kombo lost his seat while Kariuki claimed that she has been monitoring election matters for many years. Hassan told the panel that appointing him chairman of the IEBC will provide continuity at the electoral body. He has been chair of the interim electoral body since it was established in 2009.
Hassan boasts taking over after the Electoral Commission of Kenya was disbanded following the uproar caused by its failure in running and managing the disputed 2007 presidential election which resulted in violence and the deaths of at least 1,500 people and the displacement of hundreds of thousands. “We have established 17 regions across the country managed by regional coordinators. The regional coordinators offices are connected to an established ICT system,” Hassan said when he was asked to enumerate some of the successes of the IIEC during his interview on Wednesday.
He said that if he was given an opportunity to head the IEBC, he would ensure that voter registration would be done electronically by 2017. Hassan cited the success of the 2010 referendum on the constitution and attributed it to his management style which he described as 'consultative.'
Koki Muli, who is recognised as an accomplished elections observer, described herself as a "distinguished electoral expert in the country and in Africa." Saying she was the one woman in the continent with such expertise — the others being three men from Egypt, South Africa and Senegal — Muli said she is currently involved in helping to put up a law school at the South Eastern University College in Kitui, a constituent college of the University of Nairobi.
Muli said her involvement with both the ECK and the IIEC in staff training meant that she already understands election management. Muli said: "The law is what guides how a fair election is managed, I will ensure the law is used to guide the eight steps in an election cycle." Murshid cited his experience at the Boundary Commission and said his passion for the management of elections was evidenced by his unsuccessful application to head the IIEC.
Murshid and Muli were among eight lawyers interviewed by the parliamentary select committee on the constitution in 2009 for the IIEC chair. Cecil Miller Jr was hurriedly picked only to be rejected by Parliament. Others who were considered to head the same were former National Assembly Speaker Francis ole Kaparo and former Kenya National Commission on Human Rights boss Maina Kiai, former commissioner to the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission, Ms Alice Yano, Wachira Maina and Fackson Kagwe.
The selection panel is expected to come up with a list of three nominees for consideration as the IEBC chairman. The names are expected to be submitted to President Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga by Monday. The two principals will then pick one name and forward the nominee to Parliament to either accept or reject.
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