The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has officially published the names and academic qualifications of the 669 persons who applied for the four available commissioner positions in the electoral body.
The details published in The Standard newspaper today (May 25) reveal the applicants’ institutions of higher learning, their ID numbers, and their country of origin.
By the set deadline of May 17, more than 700 applications had streamed into IEBC but the number was trimmed to 669 after the body found out that some applicants had sent multiple applications.
The flood of applications paints a contrary picture of a process that normally anticipates applications slightly above the 100-mark.
The openings come at a time when thousands of Kenyans lost their jobs amidst an economically ravaging pandemic.
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The position of commissioner attracts a fat Sh621, 250 monthly salary in a country where only 84,100 formal workers earn above Sh100,000 a number that has likely dropped due to the ongoing economic climate.
Apart from the salary, the position comes with other perks such as allowances, security, airtime and an official chauffeured car. Family members of a commissioner also benefit from a full medical cover limited to a spouse and any other dependant and four children under the age of 24 years.
The commissioners are also escorted home with a hefty package amounting to almost 30 per cent of their total salary in the 6-year non-renewable term.
The four positions fell vacant following vice-chairperson Cornie Nkatha Maina and commissioners Margaret Mwachanya and Paul Kurgat in 2018.
Another commissioner, Roselyn Akombe made a controversial exit to the United States prior to the repeat 2017 presidential election citing issues of safety and interference when executing her mandate as a commissioner.
The gap left IEBC Chairman Wafula Chebukati, Commissioners Abdi Guliye and Boya Molu in office, a number that has tied the commission’s hands in executing its mandate.
With 14 months left to the 2022 general election, IEBC is rushing to fully constitute the seven required commissioners to meet the legal requirement of fulfilling its obligations.
