Narok Senator Ledama Olekina has urged the chairman of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) selection panel to consider appointing a youthful candidate for the commission’s chairperson role ahead of the interviews scheduled for Monday, March 24, 2025.

Speaking during a live interview on Monday, Olekina called for a paradigm shift in the process of electing the chair, stresssing on the need for settling on an independent thinker with Kenyan interest at heart.
 
Olekina in his assertion has faulted the Selection panel’s candidates’ shortlist, terming it as full of persons who previously occupied state positions and whom he questions their capacity to maintain impartiality.

 “For the first time, we must consider a younger person who has got the interest of this country and being united into the future. We have always been putting older people who don’t give a hoot about what happens to the next generation. We have never had an independent-thinking chairperson in the commission. We always had a person influenced by their political interest and affiliations,” he said.

“This time around we really need to have sober and independent-minded people. People who are experts in matters legal, national unity and safeguarding this nation,” he opined.

The senator, who was at the middle of the storm that rocked the announcement of the 2022 results in Bomas, further emphasized on the need to amend the laws if necessary, to curb the endemic problem that has dogged the IEBC every election cycle.

Olekina has highlighted the granting of unilateral power to the IEBC chairperson to declare election results without involving the commissioners as a contentious.

“Every election single cycle we have always blamed the chair for the decision they have made. This time we have to move and get it right and this might actually call for amending the law. Our constitution should not be static, it has to change. We have to think of ways of amending it and put the responsibility of announcing to be a collective responsibility,” he stated.

“We have a problem of recycling people. For first time we must consider a youthful and radical person who considers where we have come from,” he added.

The selection panel – led by Nelson Makanda- is set to kick off the oral interviews for the candidates for their chair position.

Over a total of 105 persons were shortlisted for the six vacant IEBC Commissioner positions with the chairperson slot attracting 11 persons.

The interviews will run Monday, March 24, 2025 to April 24 at the College of Insurance in South C, Nairobi.

Former Commission for Implementation of the Constitution (CIC) Chairman Charles Nyachae and immediate former Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Amadi have been listed in the first batch of 11 candidates to be interviewed for the position of chairperson of IEBC.

IEBC selection panel’s chairperson Nelson Makanda said his team will conclude the exercise in April and forward the names of successful candidates to the President by April 25 for appointment.
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