The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) selection panel has submitted its final report on the recruitment of the commission’s chairperson and six members to President William Ruto.

The president is now expected to nominate one chairperson and six others as commissioners, forming the seven-member electoral commission, which will be subject to parliamentary vetting and approval.

The selection panel is required to forward the names of nine candidates for commissioner positions and two for chairperson posts. The President will then appoint six members and one chair.

IEBC has not been fully constituted since 2023, following the expiration of Chebukati’s term. By-elections for various constituencies have been pending since.

The selection panel, chaired by Nelson Makanda, conducted the interviews in two phases.

Interviews for the chairperson position were held from March 24 to 26, while those for commissioner roles ran from March 26 to April 24.

Among the notable candidates seeking to fill the positions left vacant by the late IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati and his team are former Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Amadi, legal analyst Joy Mdivo, law scholar Duncan Ojwang, former CIC chair Charles Nyachae, and lawyer Patrick Lumumba Nyaberi.

According to Makanda, the panel received a total of 1,848 applications.

Of these, 211 applicants submitted multiple entries, 91 did not specify the position they were applying for, and 14 applied for positions that were not advertised.

After verification, the panel published the names of 1,356 eligible candidates—37 for the chairperson position and 1,319 for commissioner roles.