On my kicker tonight, the process of putting in place the next Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). With due credit to the undoubtedly able selection panel chaired by Dr. Nelson Makanda, the interviews for the position of chairman concluded on Wednesday, and the long process of interviewing candidates for the position of commissioner began today and will run all the way to the last week of April.
The selection panel deserves all the goodwill as it embarks on the process of selecting one commission chair out of eleven candidates and six commissioners out of one hundred and eleven candidates.
And as we wish the selection panel the best of luck, a humble reminder of the expectations of Kenyans should also come in handy.
Now, we have been down this path before—the path of constituting or reconstituting our election management body. The selection panel must remain conscious of our history of election management, which, by the way, is not a very proud one.
This particular selection panel finds itself in the unenviable place of constituting the IEBC from zero. The circumstances for this panel are nearly the same as those that existed in the aftermath of the 2007 botched elections when, on the recommendation of a special commission, the Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) was selected with lawyer Isack Hassan being picked as chairman.
The selection panel is also in the same place a similar process was when, in the aftermath of the contentious 2013 election, Isack Hassan and his team were hounded out of office.
Well, let’s accept it—our electoral management structures function like some temporary seaside house of reeds that is brought down to the ground every time the high tide sweeps in some heavy winds. So, to the Makanda team, gather those reeds and put our structure up once again. One would wish the structure would be stronger than that house of reeds, but one would also understand that this is really not up to the selection panel.
But this is up to the panel: one—the selection of only the best candidate for chairperson of the IEBC. And two, the best six candidates for the position of commissioner. In doing this, the panel must be wary of the historical abuse of the Holy Scriptures by previous IEBC selection panels. In picking the chairperson and even commissioners of the IEBC, previous selection panels appeared to have gone literal in their interpretation of the Bible, which in Matthew 19:30 says, “Many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.” In Matthew 20:16, the Bible appears to emphasize: “The last will be first, and the first will be last.”
I reluctantly invoke the Scriptures here, if only to illustrate the public discussions that followed the appointment of the previous chairman of the IEBC. It emerged that the candidate picked was not necessarily the best candidate in the selection process.
The selection panel must also be wary of pandering to the political wishes of those who nominated them to the selection panel. And to do this, the selection panel must set its mindset right by acknowledging that they are not picking a body that will decide the next election but one that will run or manage the next election. The decision on who gets elected should belong to the voters and not the IEBC.
