The High Court has issued temporary orders stopping the National Assembly from vetting the proposed Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Commissioners until May 29, 2025.

This comes after activists Kelvin Roy Omondi and Boniface Mwangi filed a petition seeking to stop the vetting by the National Assembly and approval of President William Ruto’s nominees for the positions of chairperson and commissioners of the IEBC.

Appearing before Justice Lawrence Mugambi, lawyer Paul Muite, representing the petitioners, termed the public participation done on the matter as inadequate, stating a lack of information in the public on the selection of the IEBC chairperson and the commissioners.

“We do not wish the justice system here again to undermine our people; it is therefore critical and vital that care be taken in the manner in which we go forward in the future; that is something that the panel failed to do,” lawyer Muite told the court.

Further, Muite argued that the selection panel violated the constitution, urging the court to fully address all the issues raised in the petition.

According to the petition, Omondi and Mwangi state that several applicants except Hassan Noor Hassan were shortlisted for interviews, and they attended the interviews for Chairperson and Members of the IEBC.

Names sneaked to shortlist

Further, they state that certain names were subsequently in an opaque and unclear circumstance sneaked in as having been shortlisted, and they were subsequently interviewed by the now-defunct IEBC Selection Panel in very unclear circumstances.

The petitioners also stated that the selection was not based on merit, as some of the candidates did not achieve high scores in the interviews, and some have integrity issues, while other candidates were irregularly added to the shortlist, thus compromising the process.

“That the nominations are not only illegal but also unconstitutional for failing the requirements of public appointments as espoused under Articles 10, 232 and 250(3) & (4) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, as read with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Act and the Public Appointments (Parliamentary Approval) Act, Chapter 7F, Laws of Kenya,” part of the petition read.

Regional balance

They also argued that the nominations did not meet the requirements of Articles 10, 27(1), 232 and 250(3) & (4) of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, on the requirement of regional balance, ethnic balance and the inclusion of persons with disabilities, among others.

“The list containing the nominated chairperson and commissioners for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission is unconstitutional and illegal, as it is discriminatory and failed to include any person with a disability,” part of the petition read.