Published on March 29, 2025 by Agencies for Kenya Online News
Last Updated on 1 year by Agencies for Kenya Online News
A petition has been filed in court seeking to stop the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) from proceeding with interviews for the positions of its members.
They state that the selection panel recruitment procedure is flawed from the start for being unconstitutional, discriminatory, inequitable and unrepresentative.
The petitioners claim that the IEBC ignored qualified youth who met the requirements for the positions.
Further, they state that the selection panel, without revoking the shortlist of March 14, 2025, went ahead and published an addendum to the shortlist intending to thereby comply with constitutional provisions on March 25, 2025.
“The new shortlist allegedly includes the youth yet in the previous correspondence the selection panel had indicated that no young people had met the lofty requirements for the two advertised positions,” read part of the petition.
They now want the whole process to be declared unconstitutional, urging the court to halt the ongoing member position interviews until the case is heard and determined.
“A declaration should be made that the section 6(2)(c) of the IEBC Act 2012, is inconsistent with the constitution and therefore void and invalid in terms of Article 2(4) of the Constitution,” part of the petition read.
The three petitioners, Moses Mwaga, Angela Mbuthia and Dickson Morara Omoke, argue that the recruitment procedure, as outlined in the IEBC selection process is in blatant violation of the Constitution and other legal provisions.
They are now requesting the court to issue conservatory orders halting the interviews for the IEBC member positions until the case is heard and determined.
“It is likely to cost the taxpayer money if permitted to continue without the necessary intervention, particularly as the selection criteria violate constitutional principles of inclusion, transparency, diversity, merit, and equity,” the court papers state.
The petitioners further argue that the commission has exhibited open discrimination against the youth in the country who are qualified and deserving of being shortlisted and interviewed for the positions.
“The second respondent continues to conduct interviews and may recommend names for nomination or appointment to the office of an IEBC member,” they contend.
Interviews for IEBC Chairperson and Commissioners began on Monday, March 24, 2025, and are set to run until Thursday, April 2025.
