Search for IEBC commissioners kicks off as candidates face credibility test

A day after the interviews for Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson candidates ended, the search for commissioners began in earnest on Thursday.

The commissioner candidates presented their experiences, expertise and other capabilities to steer the electoral agency and build public confidence. 

Six candidates appeared before the Nelson Makanda-led selection panel. These were Abduba Mollu, Adbihakim Adan Abdi, Abdinur Maalim Hussein, Abdihafid Abdullahi Yarrow and Abraham Kipruto Langat (Nakuru), and Adhan Nuri Berhe. 

Past shadows and promises to restore public trust in the electoral body and delivering a free, fair and credible elections took centre-stage on day one of the interviews. 

The panel sought to review the past of the nominees in evaluating their credibility to serve Kenyans as IEBC commissioners. 

Abduba Mollu was the first to appear before the panel. He recently led a USAID-funded evaluation support to organisations and other non-state actors offering civic education in Kenya.

To address the challenges the commission has dealt with in the past that often leads to contest against elections results, Mollu said he would advance the technological capacity of IEBC and promote open-door policy to build trust with voters. 

"I bring to the table stakeholders engagement skills, strategy and policy development skills from across sectors in both government and private fields. I will rally the staff to adhere to the law that will help us withstand pressure," Mollu said. 

"We cannot allow ourselves to be running partisan interests. The commission should, as much as possible, try to have a collective approach to issues. If that is upheld then the chances of infiltration of individual vested interests will reduce," he added. 

Youthful candidate Adbihakim Adan Abdi found himself on the receiving end after the panel put him to task to explain how he worked as a consultant for government agencies without prerequisite qualifications, knowledge and experience. 

Abdi had previously worked at a managerial position with an non-governmental organisation that once, during his tenure, offered consultancy services to the Ministry of Devolution. 

He defended himself saying he used his law degree to offer law services; business advisory, legal advisory and not court representation.

"There was no any litigation process involved in that engagement. I offered legal and business advisory services to groups that we were training and legal support on how to register a company," Adbihakim said.

As a teenager, he shared, that he had worked with the commission as a clerk during the 2002 elections.

"I worked as an IEBC clerk when I was in Class Seven. There was a shortage of election officials. I faced frustrations in terms of my payment because I didn't even have an ID," he said.

Abdinur Maalim Hussein's turn was marred with queries surrounding county expenditure irregularities highlighted by the Auditor General's report during his tenure as Wajir County Secretary in the 2019/2020 financial year. 

In his response, Hussein distanced himself from the unsubstantiated expenditures, denying responsibility over the allegations. He said he was "not a member of the tendering committee."

"We are only consumers of the product. I don't sit in the tender committee neither am I chairman of the committee. The audit team came to me as entry point," he said. 

Former Wajir Deputy Governor Abdihafid Abdullahi Yarrow, a beneficiary of negotiated democracy, also found himself on the defensive when the interviewing committee questioned how he would promote a direct democracy through the ballot. 

In response, he said, as a commissioner it is beyond his jurisdiction to decide for the people and would let them decide at the ballot who leads them. 

"I will use the negotiation skills to build a consensus amongst us as leaders of the commission to deliver for the people. 

Adan Bere, another candidate, said he had adequate experience to serve as IEBC commissioner having worked with the entity before as elections coordinator. 

"I have been introduced to commissioners' work having worked as a chair of Public Service Board which is more or less a commissioner's work," he said.