The Elections Observation Group (ELOG) has flagged the mysterious addition of six names in the recruitment process for new commissioners and the Chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).
In a statement released on April 9, ELOG acknowledged the IEBC selection panel for transparency exhibited throughout the process, which began two weeks ago.
However, the election watchdog noted concern about the unexplained expansion of the candidate list for commissioner positions.
Despite there being 104 names on March 14, a revised list of names showed 111 candidates on March 25. "While noting that the panel did communicate on the increase and the general reasons behind it, concerns remain on the procedure used to select the additional names and raises questions as to why this criterion was not employed from the beginning as directed by the relevant laws and regulations," a statement from ELOG said.
