President William Ruto has issued a fresh Gazette Notice appointing the new Chairperson and six Commissioners of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), clearing the final hurdle for their swearing-in by the Chief Justice.
This development comes just hours after the High Court dismissed a petition challenging the appointments, ruling that there was no conflict of interest during the selection process. However, the court quashed the earlier Gazette notice formalizing the appointments, citing that it had been issued in violation of a prior court order. The court directed the President to regularize the process by publishing a new notice in compliance with its judgment.
The new Gazette notice now sets the stage for the swearing-in of Erastus Edung Ethekon as the new IEBC Chairperson, alongside Commissioners Ann Njeri Nderitu, Moses Alutalala Mukhwana, Mary Karen Sorobit, Hassan Noor Hassan, Francis Odhiambo Aduol, and Fahima Arafat Abdallah.
With the legal and procedural issues now resolved, the commissioners are expected to be sworn in anytime from tomorrow, restoring full leadership at the IEBC for the first time in over a year and strengthening the electoral body’s preparedness ahead of the 2027 General Election.
