Foreigners may be appointed to IEBC after MPs approve Bill

Meru Senator Kiraitu Murungi (left) and his Siaya counterpart James Orengo. PHOTO | FILE 

By EDWIN MUTAI, emutai@ke.nationmedia.com

In Summary

• MPs deleted paragraph (a) of Section 6 of the Bill that stipulated that a person is qualified for appointment as a member of the IEBC if such person is a citizen of Kenya.
• This means that the removal of the requirement of citizens to be appointed to the IEBC may open a window for the appointment of any qualified foreign national to sit in the next seven member commission.
• IEBC commissioners headed by Isaack Hassan have agreed to voluntarily leave office so long as they are given a dignified exit package.

Foreigners may be appointed to serve at the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) after MPs approved the Elections Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2016, which removes the requirement that commissioners be Kenyans.

MPs last week passed the Bill without any amendments and it now awaits the input of the Senate before it is taken to President Uhuru Kenyatta for assent.

The Bill is a product of a 14- member select committee on electoral reforms that brought together the Senate and the National Assembly.

The select committee that was co-chaired by Meru Senator Kiraitu Murungi and his Siaya counterpart James Orengo came up with two Bills, the Election Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and the Election Offences Bill, 2016.

The committee was formed following sustained public demonstration by the opposition Coalition for Reforms and Democracy (Cord), which accused the current IEBC commissioners of bias.

The commissioners headed by Isaack Hassan have agreed to voluntarily leave office so long as they are given a dignified exit package.

In June, Cord suspended its weekly protests against the IEBC after the opposition and the ruling Jubilee coalition agreed to form a Select Committee to dialogue over electoral reforms and the future of the commissioners.

The MPs amended section 6 of the Independent Elections and Boundaries Commission Act 2011 that sets out qualifications for appointment as chairperson or member of the commission.

“The Bill seeks to amend section 6 of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Act, 2011 to remove the requirement that commissioners be citizens of Kenya,” clause 32 of the Bill states.

The MPs deleted paragraph (a) of Section 6 of the Bill that stipulated that a person is qualified for appointment as a member of the commission if such person is a citizen of Kenya.

“A person is qualified for appointment as a member of the commission if such  person is a citizen of Kenya, holds a degree from a recognised university, has proven relevant experience in any of the following fields-electoral matters, management, finance, governance, public administration, law and meets the requirement of Chapter Six of the Constitution,” the IEBC Act states.

This means that the removal of the requirement of citizens to be appointed to the IEBC may open a window for the appointment of any qualified foreign national to sit in the next seven member commission.

READ: IEBC commissioners to quit ahead of election

The MPs at the same time retained the requirement that public officers who intend to contest the August 2017 General Election must resign from public office six months before the date of the election.

“A public officer who intends to contest an election under this Act shall resign from public office at least six months before the date of election,” the Bill states.

The requirement does not apply to the President, Deputy President, a Member of Parliament, a county governor, deputy governor and a member of county assembly.

This means that all public servants with an eye on the August 8, 2017 polls will quit office by February 7 2017.

Attempts by MPs to change the date when public officers resign from office to contest a General Election to eight months flopped because no amendment was allowed.

Cord leader Raila Odinga and Deputy President William Ruto whipped MPs into passing the Bill without a single amendment.

Mr Odinga and Mr Ruto ensured that MPs approved the Bill, which seals all avenues for party hopping without altering its contents.

The MPs also made changes to the IEBC Act to provide for other modes of vacation from office of members of the commission including death and resignation from office since this was not covered under the law.

“The office of the chairperson or a member of the commission shall become vacant if the holder dies, resigns from office in writing addressed to the President or is removed from office under any of the circumstances specified under Article 251 and Chapter Six of the Constitution,” the Bill states.

The Bill requires the President to publish a notice of a vacancy in the Kenya Gazette within seven days of occurrence of such a vacancy in the IEBC.

“Whenever a vacancy arises under subsection (1), the recruitment of a new chairperson or a member, under this Act, shall commence immediately after the declaration of the vacancy by the President,” the Bill says.

The Bill stipulates that the replacement of the chairperson or member of the commission shall commence at least six months before the lapse of the term of the chairperson or member of the commission.

The Bill also clarifies how the office of the secretary to the IEBC becomes vacant.