President William Ruto speaking during the burial of Malava MP Malulu Injendi on March 4, 2025.President William Ruto has asked the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission selection panel to speed up the process for the country to have new commissioners.
The selection panel is responsible for picking new commissioners and chairman of the electoral agency in readiness for the 2027 General Election.
Speaking on Tuesday, the President said those who have been tasked with the responsibility should speed up the process.
“The committee tasked with reconstituting new IEBC commissioners, those who are have the responsibility, should speed up the process so that we have a new IEBC for Malava residents to elect their leader as I help them,” the President said.
Those appointed to the selection panel are Carolyne Kituku, nominated by the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), Fatuma Saman from the Inter-Religious Council of Kenya, Lindah Gakii and Adams Oloo, nominated by the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC), Evans Misati, Nicodemus Bore, and Koki Muli, representing the Political Parties Liaison Committee; Andrew Kipkoech from ICPAK and Nelson Makanda of the Interreligious Council of Kenya.
So far, the IEBC Selection Panel has elected Dr Nelson Makanda as the chairperson and Lindah Kiome the Vice Chairperson.
On February 1, the Selection Panel officially invited Kenyans to submit their applications for the positions by February 15.
The panel stated that following this, necessary steps will be undertaken with the final list of successful individuals expected to be forwarded to the president on April 25 for appointment.
"Thereafter the next steps will follow because as appertains to the law, the names will be forwarded to parliament for vetting and later take over the office," said Lindah Kiome, the panel's vice chairperson.
"If we give the names by the 25th, we should be having a commission by May in accordance with the law."
Kiome at the same time clarified that since the panel is new, the process begins afresh.
The selection panel is also hopeful the positions of chairperson and members of the IEBC will be fully constituted by May this year.
The panel has strict timelines—90 days—within which it must establish a fully constituted IEBC. That means the team is expected to deliver on that mandate by April 27, 2025.
On January 27, 2025, Ruto appointed the nine-member IEBC selection panel via a gazette notice published on Monday, January 27.
This marked the end of a nearly three-year delay in constituting the panel as some parties haggled in court over the composition of the team.
While presiding over the swearing-in ceremony of the team, CJ Martha Koome implored the panel to ensure its picks individuals whose integrity is beyond reproach.
"The future of Kenya’s democracy depends on the integrity of the men and women you select to lead the IEBC. The commissioners you appoint must be individuals of untainted credibility—committed to independence, impartiality, and the principles enshrined in our Constitution," she said.
