Youth groups demand revocation of IEBC commissioners' shortlist citing bias, exclusion
They termed the omission of young candidates as a clear violation of constitutional provisions that promote inclusivity, fair representation and equal opportunities.
Youth organisations, including the National Youth Leaders Caucus and the Inter-Party Youth Forum, have written to the IEBC selection panel, condemning the exclusion of young, qualified candidates from the recently published shortlist for the positions of chairperson and commissioners.
The groups, in a letter dated March 14, 2025, and addressed to the IEBC selection panel Chairperson Nelson Makanda, accused it of bias, alleging that the process favoured politically connected individuals with questionable integrity while side-lining deserving young applicants.
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Led by Alex Matere and Kidi Mwaga, the youth leaders, through their legal representatives, expressed their "profound disappointment and outright rejection" of the list published on 14th March 2025.
Among those who were shortlisted are eleven candidates expected to fill the vacancy left following the end of the tenure of the former chairman, the late Wafula Chebukati. The list includes former Chief Registrar of the Judiciary Anne Amadi and former chairman of the Commission for the Implementation of the Constitution (CIC) Charles Nyachae.
Others on the shortlist for the IEBC Chairperson position are Abdulqadir Lorot Ramadhan, Edward Katama Ngeywa, Erastus Edung Ethekon, Francis Kakai Kissinger, Joy Brenda Masinde-Mdivo, Jacob Ngwele Muvengei, Lilian Wanjiku Manegene, Robert Akumu Asembo, and Saul Simiyu Wasilwa.
Final shortlist questioned
The youths noted that the final shortlist included individuals who were not on the long list published on March 6, 2025, questioning the legitimacy of the addendum published on March 14, which introduced new names that were subsequently shortlisted.
"Our clients, the youth, were not aware that the application period had been extended," they decried.
The organisations also argued that despite hundreds of qualified youth submitting applications, none were considered, which they termed as systemic exclusion.
"The shortlist has no youth representation despite application by hundreds of young candidates who met the constitutional threshold to be commissioners, as evidenced in the published long list. Our clients demand to know the criteria used to eliminate all these deserving youth candidates," reads the letter.
They also termed the omission of young candidates as a clear violation of constitutional provisions that promote inclusivity, fair representation and equal opportunities.
“The youth are dismayed by the outright omission of young, qualified, and competent individuals from the list, despite the constitutional and statutory provisions that promote inclusivity, fair representation, and equal opportunities for all citizens,” reads the letter.
Corruption claims
They further alleged that the shortlisted candidates included individuals implicated in corruption and political affiliations, citing cases of "money launderers, individuals charged with economic crimes, persons with active and pending corruption cases, political party operatives, officers dismissed for corruption, and serving state officers who are ineligible."
Matere and Mwaga have now demanded transparency in the selection process, calling for the panel to explain the criteria used to eliminate all youth applicants.
The youth leaders have called on the panel to issue a public explanation of the criteria used in the shortlisting process, an immediate review to incorporate qualified youth candidates, and the revocation of the published shortlist to ensure at least 50 per cent representation of youth and persons with disabilities.
They also demand the publication of the selection criteria to uphold the right to access information under Article 35 (1) (a) & (b) of the 2010 Constitution.
"Our clients reject in total a process that will give birth to the same tainted election officials whose actions, by omission or commission, almost always lead to the loss of many youth lives. The current process is evidently flawed with a designed outcome," reads the letter.
The youth groups had also given the selection panel a 48-hour ultimatum to address their grievances.
Should their demands remain unmet, they vowed to take legal and constitutional action, including mass protests, litigation and seeking parliamentary intervention.
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