The 2017 general elections are fast approaching. Despite the political grandstanding being witnessed, it is now acknowledged that it is no longer tenable for the current Independent Election and Boundaries Commission to conduct future general elections in which Cord is contestant and that it is now only a matter of time before the current commissioners exist office. The need to settle the manner in which the Commission is to be constituted has never been more urgent.
The Independent Election and Boundaries Commission Act, 2011 provides for the appointment by the President, with the approval of the National Assembly, of nine members of the Independent Election and Boundaries Commission; nominated by a Selection Panel consisting of: two persons nominated by the President, two persons nominated by the Prime Minister, one person nominated by the Judicial Service Commission, one person nominated by the Kenya Anti-Corruption Advisory Board and one person nominated by the Association of Professional Societies of East Africa. The office of the Prime Minister and the Kenya Anti-Corruption Advisory Board have both ceased existence.
The ruling Jubilee Coalition has proposed through the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee of the National Assembly to amend this law to have the Commission appointed in the very same manner, only reconstituting the Selection Panel to comprise: 2 persons nominated by the Majority Party, 2 persons nominated by the Minority Party and 3 persons nominated by the Public Service Commission. The Bill is presented by Hon. Samuel Chepkonga, the Chairperson of the Committee.
Contemporaneously, the writer has also presented a Bill to Parliament completely doing away with the Selection Panel and reducing the number of Commissioners from 9 to 5 as follows: 2 persons, being one man and one woman, nominated by the Majority Party; 2 persons, being one man and one woman nominated by the Minority Party; and, one person, being an Advocate of the status of a Senior Counsel elected by the Law Society of Kenya. This is now to explain the import of the bills to enable our people make informed choices on how best to approach this important matter.
Studies undertaken indicate that the composition and manner of formation of electoral bodies vary from nation to nation based on the history and level of democratic maturity of a people and the strength of the existing democratic institutions. For instance, in the United States of America, the Federal Election Commission was formed following the hotly disputed 1876 presidential election. The Commission which was intended to have fifteen members: seven Republicans, seven Democrats and one Independent ended up having fifteen members: eight Republicans; and seven Democrats due to changes occasioned to the composition of the Supreme Court by the unexpected resignation of Justice David Davis, the Independent, from the Supreme Court following his election to the Senate; a situation which left the Supreme Court without a political independent and availed an extra nominee through the Supreme Court to the Republicans.