NAIROBI, Kenya – The panel overseeing the recruitment of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Chairperson has shortlisted 11 candidates for the position, which has remained vacant since the departure of the late Wafula Chebukati.
Among those eyeing the top electoral job is Anne Amadi, the former Chief Registrar of the Judiciary, alongside Charles Nyachae, who previously chaired the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC).
Other contenders include Abdulqadir Lorot Ramadhan, Edward Katama Ngeywa, Erastus Edung Ethekon, Francis Kakai Kissinger, Joy Brenda Masinde-Mdivo, Jacob Ngwele Muvengei, Lilian Wanjiku Manegene, Robert Akumu Asembo, and Saul Simiyu Wasilwa.
The Selection Panel, chaired by Dr. Nelson Makanda, also published a separate list of 105 individuals shortlisted for IEBC commissioner positions.
The shortlisted candidates will face oral interviews from March 24 to March 27, 2025, at the College of Insurance in South C, Nairobi.
The panel has invited members of the public to submit sworn statements regarding the suitability of the candidates.
The recruitment process has faced significant delays. Although President William Ruto gazetted the vacancies on March 1, 2023, it took nearly two years to establish the selection panel, causing public frustration over the lack of an electoral body.
The process officially resumed on January 27, 2025, with the appointment of a seven-member selection panel.
Earlier this year, the panel received 1,848 applications for both the Chairperson and Commissioner roles.
The IEBC has been without leadership since January 16, 2023, when the terms of Chairperson Wafula Chebukati and Commissioners Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu expired.
The commission was further destabilized after former Vice Chair Juliana Cherera and Commissioners Irene Masit, Justus Nyang’aya, and Francis Wanderi were ousted following their opposition to the 2022 presidential election results.
The new chairperson will be tasked with rebuilding public confidence in the IEBC ahead of the 2027 General Election.
