President William Samoei Ruto has officially appointed Erastus Edung Ethekon as the new chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

The appointment, which was formally documented under Gazette Notice No. 7724 and published in a special issue of the Kenya Gazette dated Tuesday, June 10, 2025, invokes the powers conferred upon the Head of State under Article 250(2) of the Constitution of Kenya.

According to the notice, the president has appointed Ethekon to take up the mantle as chairperson of the commission for a term of six years, a period during which the IEBC will be expected to recalibrate its credibility and reinforce public trust in electoral processes.

“IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by Article 250 (2) with Section 5 (2) of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Act and Paragraph 4 of the First Schedule to the Act, I, William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, appoint—ERASTUS EDUNG’ ETHEKON to be the Chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission for a period of six (6) years,” the gazette read in part.

New commissioners

In a separate but concurrent notice—Gazette Notice No. 7725—President Ruto has also unveiled the names of six individuals appointed as Commissioners of the IEBC, each of whom will serve alongside the new Chairperson for the same six-year term.

“IN EXERCISE of the powers conferred by Article 250 (2) as read with section 5 (2) of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission Act and Paragraph 4 of the First Schedule to the Act, I, William Samoei Ruto, President of the Republic of Kenya and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces, appoint—Ann Njeri Nderitu, Moses Atua Mukhwana, Mary Karen, Hasan Noor Hassan, Francis Odhiambo Aduol, and Fahima Araphat Abdallah to be members of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission for a period of six (6) years,” the gazette added.

The appointments come at a time when the IEBC has been under immense public scrutiny, following a season of political noise and questions around transparency and operational independence.

They also come just 5 days after the National Assembly approved the nomination for the appointment of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson, Erastus Ethekon, and six other commissioners.

The Wednesday, June 4, 2025, approval came after the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) gave a green light on the IEBC chairperson and the commissioners and submitted their names for approval by the plenary.

“Taking into consideration the findings of the departmental committee for Justice and Legal Affairs in its report on the vetting of the nominees for appointment as chairperson and members of the IEBC, laid on the table on Tuesday, June 3, 2025, and pursuant to the provisions of Article 252 (b) of the constitution, the National Assembly approves the appointment of the following persons to the IEBC: Erastus Edung Ethekon – Chairperson, Anne Nderitu Njeri, Moses Alutalala, Mary Sorobit, Hassan Noor Hassan, Francis Aduol and Fahima Abdallah as members,” Wetang’ula stated.

JLAC approval

On Tuesday, June 3, 2025, JLAC approved the appointments of the seven individuals and recommended that the National Assembly equally consider their approval.

“Pursuant to the provisions of Article 252(b) of the Constitution, the committee approves the appointment of Ethekon as the chairperson and Ms Nderitu, Mukwhana, Ms Sorobit, Hassan, Aduol, and Ms Abdallah,” JLAC chairperson and Tharaka MP George Murugara said.

The seven names had been presented to the parliamentary committee by President William Ruto on May 8, 2025, just two days after receiving two nominees for the position of chairperson of the IEBC and 9 nominees for the position of commissioners.

At the time, speculations were rife that the former registrar of the Judiciary, Anne Amadi, or the former judge at the East African Court of Justice, Charles Nyachae, were the front runners for the top job.