President William Ruto and Azimio leader Raila Odinga are engaged in bipartisan negotiations aimed at resolving their political differences. In an exclusive interview with The Standard yesterday, Nelson Makanda, the chairperson of the IEBC selection panel, rejected claims that their operations were suspended to make room for those negotiations.
“The IEBC panel is still in operation and is currently performing its tasks. The panel has been established, is functioning, and is in session. In fact, we’re scheduled to meet at 2:30 pm tomorrow. Nothing needs to be concealed, he declared.
Makanda refuted claims that President Ruto gave them orders to halt operations until a compromise was reached by the bipartisan committee made up of Azimio and Kenya kwanza legislators by saying that the selection panel took a break of their own accord when political tensions in the nation rose.
The primary goal of the bipartisan group was to get an agreement on the procedure for choosing the next IEBC commissioners.
The IEBC selection committee, however, stated that they are working but with the political climate in mind.
Begin the shortlisting
“This panel has not adjourned, and no arm of the government has instructed it to do so. The panel saw the political climate and understood that one of their main agenda items was the panel’s makeup, so we opted to permit a process that maintains calm,” Makanda told The Standard.
He continued, “I have not heard from the Executive or anyone else since I started office.
The selection panel was to begin shortlisting candidates before they took a break to replace the positions that the Wafula Chebukati-led commission had left open.
925 Kenyans, according to Makanda, applied to be IEBC commissioners.
25 people applied to be the chairperson of the IEBC.
Makanda told the press at the KICC in Nairobi, “As at the 5pm deadline, the preliminary perusal of physical and electronic records indicates a total of nine online applications and 16 hard copy applications for Chairperson of the IEBC had been received.”
He added that a preliminary review of their data revealed 900 applicants, of whom 385 submitted paper applications and 515 submitted online ones for the six commissioner positions with the IEBC.
Before announcing the chosen candidates for interviews, the selection panel had to start by carefully reviewing the applicants’ paper and electronic submissions.
They have already reviewed the applications, Makanda disclosed.
”To ensure that we are being fair to everyone of them, the panel has taken it upon itself to carefully review the names and qualifications. We are still working and on track to do that duty since we are aware of our deadline,” he said.
“The selection panel has been meeting to examine IEBC issues, and all of their interactions have been recorded.” he continued
There is nothing to hide, and the panel has been meeting freely. If the panel meets irregularly, all of our sessions are taped. He stated, “There are in Hansard.”
Makanda stated that they are still on schedule and will follow the constitutional deadlines even if they have not yet narrowed down the candidates.
“No one is responsible for the delay; we are still on schedule. However, we must exercise caution in selecting individuals who will be given the authority to run the IEBC. Keep in mind that the outcome of this panel carries a lot of responsibility.” He stated.
The co-chair of the Bipartisan Committee, George Murugara, claimed on Tuesday that Azimio had urged that the committee write to the team to prevent them from performing their duties, despite the selection panel chair’s claims to the contrary.
”We agreed to request the selection panel on its own volition and most likely because they are human beings and care about the nation, they could opt to suspend, and that was our agreement because there is no law supporting us to direct an independent institution like Kenya kwanza.”he said. However, he claimed that Azimio revised the letter behind his back.
However, the co-chair of the Bipartisan Committee, Otiende Amollo (Azimio), claimed yesterday that the Kenya Kwanza team later altered their minds, claiming that the selection panel is an independent institution and cannot be instructed.
“His argument is completely fallacious because the bipartisan negotiations are based on the people’s right to self-determination. If we can’t give them instructions to halt the process and save the servers in the interim, the IEBC or selection panel cannot be autonomous in any case. How will we eventually inform them of the committee’s final judgments?” Amollo posed.
Makanda made it clear that he hadn’t received any correspondence from Azimio or Kenya Kwanza.
Azimio was given a deadline by Kenya Kwanza to pick up the conversation on Tuesday of the next week, failing which the selection panel would proceed with reconstituting the IEBC.
Azimio was given a deadline by Kenya Kwanza to pick up the conversation on Tuesday of the next week, failing which the selection panel would proceed with reconstituting the IEBC.
“These talks were predicated on a political agreement between Ruto and Raila, the discussions were built on that basis. It doesn’t concern formality. The discussions have ended. Our party leader said that. What more formalities are required?” Amollo countered.
