The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Wednesday named nine candidates for interviews for the post of chief executive officer. IEBC chairperson Erastus Edung Ethekon said in a statement that the interviews will be held on November 12 and 13. The candidates will be told the venue later, the Daily Nation reported.
The shortlist includes Nacada chief executive Anthony Amerikwa and former Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) chief executive Halakhe Waqo. The others are Harley Mutisya, Edmund Odiwuor Malitt, Andrew Gitau Kimani, Mohamed Abdullahi Abdi, Edward Katama Ngeywa, Martina Wato Yattani and Nellie Ilongo. A total of 304 people applied before the deadline.
Ethekon said the commission weighed the requirements of the job and the need for inclusion. "This final shortlist presented has taken into consideration the above requirements, layered with the need to drive inclusion such as gender, regional balance, differently-abled persons to the extent reasonable and possible based on the applicant pool," he said.
Candidates must bring their national identity cards, academic and professional certificates, transcripts and testimonials. They also need clearance certificates from the EACC, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, the Kenya Revenue Authority and the Higher Education Loans Board.
The shortlist comes five months after former CEO Marjan Hussein Marjan resigned. The commission described his exit as a mutual agreement. Marjan joined the IEBC in March 2022. He was its public face while it operated without a full team of commissioners.
The CEO oversees the secretariat's daily administrative and technical work and serves as the commission's accounting officer. The job covers budgets, procurement and staff. It also includes coordinating elections, referenda, voter registration and boundary reviews. The successful candidate will serve a four-year term, renewable subject to performance.
The recruitment is part of wider preparations for the 2027 vote. The Star reported on Thursday that the IEBC is also procuring a digital system to verify party membership records and check candidates' eligibility. According to The Star, candidate registration is set for May 29 to June 11 next year.