A petition was Friday filed in court challenging the ongoing recruitment of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) chairperson and members.
The petitioners claim that the process is unconstitutional, lacks transparency and unfairly excluded qualified youth candidates.
The three petitioners, Moses Mwaga, Angela Mbuthia and Dickson Morara Omoke argue that the selection panel failed to adhere to the law by shortlisting individuals who still hold state offices, in violation of Article 88(2) of the Constitution.
Among those named in the petition are Justice Charles Ayako Nyachae, Kenya Power and Lighting Company Board Chairperson Joy Mdivo, Registrar of Political Parties Anne Ndiritu, and Chief Magistrate Abdulqadir Lorot.
The petitioners further allege that the selection process unfairly discriminates against youth by imposing stringent experience requirements of 15 years for the chairperson and 10 years for members.
They claim that despite meeting all the requirements, including relevant academic and professional qualifications, youthful candidates were overlooked.
“These requirements are onerous as their net effect is to exclude the youths by indirectly discriminating them on age basis,” read the court documents.
The trio also accuses the selection panel of lacking transparency.
They argue that the requests for information on the eligibility of shortlisted candidates were ignored, violating Article 35 (1) of the Constitution, which guarantees citizens the right to access public information.
“Failure to provide such critical information constitutes a breach of article 35(1) of the constitution of Kenya,” said the petitioners.
Additionally, the petitioners argue that the panel “has been providing to the public disjointed, vague, and incomplete information with the sole nefarious aim of obscuring the selection process”.
They now want the court to issue conservatory orders halting the interviews for the IEBC member positions until the case is heard and determined.
“It is likely to cost the taxpayer money if permitted to continue without the necessary intervention, particularly as the selection criteria violate constitutional principles of inclusion, transparency, diversity, merit, and equity,” the court papers state.