IEBC selection panel chairperson Nelson Makanda leads other members of the panel during a press briefing on the concluded interviews of the IEBC chairperson candidates at the Edge Convention Centre, South C on March 26, 2025. /FILEMost Kenyans don't believe the just concluded vetting of applicants for positions on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission was merit-based, a study shows.
Survey results released by Tifa on Wednesday say 55 per cent of Kenyans who were interviewed expressed no confidence in the vetting process.
The poll results were released a day after the IEBC selection panel submitted its report on the nominees to President Willam Ruto, the appointing authority.
The poll said that the lack of confidence in the vetting process reveals a serious legitimacy deficit in the commission and the appointing authorities.
“The data clearly shows that public confidence in the IEBC vetting process is strongly influenced by how individuals perceive the credibility of past elections,” the poll says in part.
Tifa said those who believe previous elections were fair tend to trust the current process, while those who view past elections as flawed expressed deep scepticism.
According to the poll, 23 per cent of Kenyans were confident that the IEBC vetting was merit-based, while 16 per cent were "somewhat confident".
At least five per cent did not have enough information to warrant an opinion on the subject, while one per cent of Kenyans did not respond.
The poll was conducted between May 2 and 6, 2025.
It covered nine regions of Central Rift, Coast, Lower Eastern, Mt Kenya, Nairobi, Northern, Nyanza, South Rift and Western.
The survey had a margin of error of +/- 2.17 per cent.
A total of 2,024 respondents were interviewed using Telephonic Interviews in Kiswahili and English.
The respondents' contacts were collected through face-to-face (household-based interviews)
The IEBC Selection Panel conducted interviews for chair position in March.
A total of 105 candidates were shortlisted and underwent vetting in an exercise that ran until April 25, 2025.
The selection panel submitted names of successful candidates to President Ruto on Tuesday for appointment.
The team selected two persons for appointment as chairperson and nine persons for appointment as members of the commission.
The President will nominate one person for appointment as the chairperson and six persons for appointment as commissioners.
Tthe President will forward the list of nominees to the National Assembly for approval within seven days of receiving the names.
