The High Court has ordered the immediate recruitment of new Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) Commissioners.
The High Court’s decision stems from a case filed by Adan Mohamed, who argued that the delay in recruiting IEBC Commissioners had violated the rights of constituents, particularly in Banisa Constituency, where a by-election was supposed to take place following the death of the MP in March last year.
An ongoing political truce by Azimio la Umoja One Kenya coalition and the ruling Kenya Kwanza leadership had temporarily halted the process.
However, while issuing the orders, High Court Judge Mugure Thande emphasized in her decision that the political truce does not supersede the Constitution.
“I reject the notion that the political question doctrine should override the very explicit constitutional provisions and that the prevailing circumstances should be allowed to infringe on the rights enshrined in the Constitution,” Judge Thande stated.
Constitutional lawyers pointed out that Kenya was confronted with a constitutional crisis, particularly since the IEBC was supposed to commence the delimitation of boundaries and conclude it by the end of February.
Justice Thande directed the current IEBC Selection Panel to expedite the recruitment of new Commissioners, including the appointment of a new Chairperson.
This process had been put on hold during the bi-partisan talks, where both Azimio and Kenya Kwanza had negotiation teams working to determine the best formula for replacing ousted and retired Commissioners.
“The intervention of the court is justified more so because the bi-partisan talks are, to the best of her knowledge, not anchored in either the Constitution or the law,” Justice Thande asserted.
