Senators to consider IEBC Act review during special sitting tomorrow

Senate Speaker Amason Kingi has recalled the House for a special sitting on Thursday.



The special sitting that will be held in the morning and in the afternoon is contained in a special gazette notice dated January 17, 2022.



During the sitting, the House will transact two businesses namely: the swearing-in of William Kipkemoi Kisang, the Senator-elect for Elgeyo Marakwet County; and the consideration of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) (Amendment) Bill, 2022 (National Assembly Bills No. 49 of 2022).



“The business specified in this Notice shall be the only business before the Senate during the special sittings,’ Kingi said.



The House is in its long Christmas recess and is expected to resume sitting on February 14, 2022.



The consideration of the IEBC Bill that seeks to change the composition of the selection panel that oversees the filling of vacant positions in the Commission will however, be the main agenda of the House.



The Bill is sponsored by National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichug’wah and was passed in the House in 2022.



It was later introduced in the Senator where it was read for the first time in December 2022.



The Bill seeks to reduce the current allocation of the Parliamentary Service Commission (PSC) which nominates four out of the seven members.



The proposal seeks to allow the Political Parties Liason Committee and the Public Service Commission to nominate one member to the panel.



The debate on the Bill comes at a time when three commissioners have already left after the expiration of their tenure while three others resigned and one is suspended by President William Ruto.



The former Commission’s Chair Wafula Chebukati and former Commissioners Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu six-year term in office lapsed on Tuesday.



Vice Chairperson Juliana Cherera and Commissioners Francis Wanderi and Justus Abonyo succumbed to pressure and resigned after the 2022 General Election amid allegations that they tried to subvert the will of the people.



Commissioner Irene Masit who stands suspended is waiting for the verdict of the tribunal that was established by President Ruto to investigate her conduct and that of her three colleagues.



The Selection Panel once constituted shall advertise the vacant positions at the Commission setting in motion the stage of recruiting new commissioners who will eventually be appointed by President Ruto.



Capital