The competition for the IEBC chairmanship will be among candidates from Murang’a, Kisumu, Kakamega, Kiambu and Nandi counties.
One of the five shortlisted candidates for the chairmanship of the IEBC will be replacing Isaac Hassan at the helm of the country’s electoral body.
The five include Mr David Mukii Mereka, Ms Roseline Odhiambo-Odede, Dr John Kangu Mutakha, Ms Margaret Wambui Ngugi Shava and Mr David Malakwen Kiprop will now face the interviewing panel on November 28 and 29.
The five are all experienced lawyers. Mr Mereka, who will be the first to be interviewed, is from Murang’a County.
He holds a masters degree in law from the University of Nairobi, where he also obtained his first degree. The lawyer has worked as treasurer of the Football Kenya Elections Board.
Next on the interview list on November 28 is Ms Odede. The former vice-chairperson of the Judges and Magistrates Vetting Board is from Kisumu.
She could be considered an ideal candidate by the opposition and the ruling coalition on the basis of her origin as well as her background in LSK and the vetting board.
Ms Odede began her practice in 1993. In 2010, she became a council member of the LSK.
She was also a member of the Council of Legal Education and in September 2011, joined the vetting board. She describes herself as having an interest in family and child law as well as human rights, equity and equality.
Dr Mutakha Kangu will be interviewed at 3pm on the same Monday. The scholar chaired the task force that oversaw the development of laws to enable the implementation of devolution and is considered one of the foremost experts on Kenya’s Constitution.
Interviews on Tuesday will kick off with Ms Shava. She comes from Kiambu and was a member of the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission.
The last candidate to be interviewed will be Mr Kiprop. The University of Nairobi and Kenya School of Law-trained advocate has been Kenya Commercial Bank company secretary.
Ten other applicants were declared unfit for the job, among them American Andrew Franklin, Justice Anyara Emukule and Mr Murshid Abdalla Mohammed, who is a member of the Police Service Commission.
