President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday 5th August 2021 nominated four people to fill the slots of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
President Kenyatta nominated Francis Wanderi, Justus Abonyo, Juliana Cherera, and Irene Cherop to be IEBC commissioners.
The four names have been sent to Parliament for vetting and approval.
They will be replacing Roselyn Akombe, Margaret Mwachanya, Paul Kurgat, and former Vice-Chair Consolata Maina.
The Selection Panel for the appointment of the commissioners had shortlisted the names of the 36 individuals from a pool of 660 applicants who had expressed interest in the positions.
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The selection panel for the appointment of commissioners for IEBC was chaired by Elizabeth Muli.
Francis Wanderi
While appearing before the selection panel Wanderi said If appointed as commissioner, he would partner with various stakeholders to educate the populace on the need to vote and more importantly without being bribed.
“I will try to negotiate with the registrar of voters to get manpower and register voters, while IDs are being issued, we will get our team on the ground so that they can register voters simultaneously,” Mr. Wanderi stated.
Justus Abonyo
On the other hand, Mr. Abonyo mentioned that the country should consider adopting blockchain technology.
“The cost of a ballot in Kenya ranges between $7 and $25 (Sh700-Sh2,500). If we use blockchain technology, this cost will go down to $0.5 (Sh50). This is an area I would explore as a commissioner," he said.
File Image of Juliana Cherera.
At the same time, Cherera stated that she would prioritize the participation of minority groups during elections, should she succeed.
“We will quickly do a crash program…we will give the team 100 days to perform their duties. We will be very targeted to these teams and where they are. We will move to where they are, e.g if its mama mboga, we’ll move to the market and register them from there,” she stated.
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