Two petitioners have made a last-ditch effort to stop the appointment of new commissioners for the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission with a letter to Chief Justice Martha Koome.
The move came barely hours after President William Ruto appointed Erastus Edung Ethekon as the Chairperson of the IEBC for a term of six years, alongside five other commissioners.
In their letter to Koome, the petitioners questioned the legality of the gazettement of the new chair and commissioners and faulted the President for allegedly bypassing the Judiciary with his move.
While the appointments were made under the powers granted to the President under Article 250(2) of the Constitution, alongside Section 5(2) and Paragraph 4 of the First Schedule to the IEBC Act, questions were raised on the legality of the appointments, especially since conservatory orders had been issued on May 19.
