Edung Ethekon sworn-in as IEBC Chairperson » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, July 11— Edung Ethekon has been sworn in as the new Chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC), alongside six commissioners, after President William Ruto regularized their appointments.

The ceremony, held at the Judiciary grounds and presided over by Chief Justice Martha Koome, marks the final procedural step in the formalization of their roles at the electoral agency.

This comes after days of legal uncertainty that had threatened to stall the process following concerns surrounding the nature of their appointment by President William Ruto.

The swearing-in followed a court ruling on Thursday that gave the green light for the appointments on condition that the head of state follows the law vide a regular gazette notice.

In the ruling, the court directed President Ruto to correct procedural flaws in the earlier gazettement and issue a fresh notice to formalize the appointments.

The court found that while there had been procedural errors, they were not fatal enough to nullify the appointments altogether.

“We find no sufficient basis to invalidate the appointments but order the President to regularize the Gazette Notice to align with statutory requirements.”

Ethekon takes over at a critical time when electoral reforms are under public scrutiny in the wake of heated political discourse.