The interviews for the chairperson and commissioners of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries (IEBC) kick off today.

The selection panel, led by Nelson Makanda, had shortlisted 11 individuals—eight males and three females—for the position of chairperson to replace the late Wafula Chebukati.

 The candidates include the former Registrar of Judiciary Anne Amadi, former chair of the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC) Charles Nyachae and former deputy chief registrar of the Judiciary Francis Kakai Kissinger.

Other candidates are the Kenya Power Board Chairperson Joy Brenda Mdivo, ex-Turkana County Attorney Erastus Edung Ethekon, ex-Nairobi County Assembly Clerk Jacob Ngwele, lawyers Robert Asembo, Abdulqadir Lorut Ramadhan, Saul Simiyu Wasilwa, Lillian Wanjiku Manegene and Edward Katana Ngweywa, who is a person with disability.

The selection panel has also shortlisted 105 other candidates for the six vacant IEBC’s Commissioner positions. The interviews will run from today to April 24 at the College of Insurance in South C, Nairobi. Nyachae, Amadi, Ramadhan and Ngeywa will be the first to face the panel this morning. At least two lobbies have raised objections over Mdivo’s and Nyachae’s candidatures.

Operation Linda Jamii has lodged a petition claiming the two are ineligible for the role due to their current public offices, which they are yet to relinquish, and potential conflicts of interest. Nyachae is currently the chairperson of the Council of the Kenya School of Government, while Mdivo is the chairperson of the Kenya Power Board and the head of the United Democratic Alliance (UDA) party Electoral Disputes Resolution Committee.

 Objections Accordingly, the petitioners argue that by virtue of the two still holding State ofces is in violation of Article 260 of the Constitution, which prohibits public officers from holding more than one State position simultaneously. The lobby maintains that allowing politically afliated individuals or those in State employment to take up positions within the IEBC, which is expected to oversee elections in a neutral manner, compromises the independence of the institution, undermining public trust in the electoral process.

The Law Society of Kenya (LSK) and Katiba Institute have both been enjoined in the petition, which was filed at a High Court in Naivasha, as interested parties.

They are seeking a court order barring the duo from participating in the scheduled interviews until the matter is resolved.

A youth lobby group, the Kenya Youth Organisation, has also expressed reservations over Nyachae’s suitability to replace chair of the electoral body, claiming he lacks a proven record of impartiality, hence doubts over his impartiality