The National Assembly's Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) has approved the nomination of Erastus Ethekon Edung as the new Chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
In its report issued to the National Assembly on Tuesday, June 3, the JLAC also approved the nominations of six others to take up the roles of IEBC commissioners.
The approvals follow a successful vetting by the JLAC, which took place on Saturday, May 31.
Following the approvals, all eyes are now on the National Assembly, which is set to debate the report and either reject or approve the committee’s recommendation.
President William Ruto nominated Ethekon and the six commissioners following a comprehensive report he had received from the IEBC selection panel, led by its chairperson, Nelson Makanda.
The six commissioners nominated and approved are Registrar of Political Parties Ann Nderitu, Moses Alutalala Mukhwana (Kakamega), Mary Karen Sorobit (Uasin Gishu), Hassan Noor Hassan (Mandera), Francis Odhiambo Aduol (Kisumu), and Fahima Araphat Abdallah (Lamu).
During the vetting process, Ethekon told the JLAC Committee that he was competent enough for the job and committed to upholding the law if picked as the new IEBC chair, assuring that he would be impartial in his role to ensure free and fair elections.
“I will play my role as Chairperson in that, I will be guided by the laws of Kenya, and through that fidelity to the law, I should be able to follow all the laid down processes that will lead us to credible, free, verifiable elections,” Ethekon said.
His nomination had elicited mixed reactions among Kenyans after allegations that he was connected to former Turkana Governor Josephat Nanok. Concerns had been raised that the former Turkana County Attorney could lead to bias in favour of President William Ruto, given Nanok’s close ties to the presidency.
Currently, Nanok serves as a Deputy Chief of Staff at the State House.
The nominee, however, dismissed the concerns and revealed that he had no relations with the former governor apart from the professional relationship they had when he served under him.
“For the record, Honourable Chairman, not even close, not at the clan level, let alone family. We come from different villages and have no relationship whatsoever, whether by marriage or extended family,” Edung clarified.
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