The Electoral Commission (EC) wants members’ appointments to “be synchronised with the electoral cycle” and have four-year appointments”, according to the joint report by the Electoral Commission and the Supervisor of Elections on the 2022 General Election tabled in Parliament last week.
The commission says this will ensure institutional continuity, accountability and effectiveness.
“Section 135 of the Constitution currently provides for EC members to be appointed for a term of three years,” stated the report.
“However, the electoral cycle is four years. This means that after much effort and public funds have been invested in developing the capacity and electoral expertise of EC members, their appointments can expire prior to the election.
“This is just when the EC is required to make critical electoral decisions and adjudicate on various electoral disputes.
“The terms of the EC members need to be synchronised with the electoral cycle, so that a constituted EC oversees the conduct of an election and is in a position to complete the statutory reports to the President and be held accountable for them.”
The report recommended extending the terms of the commission members under the Constitution, so that each member may be appointed for at least a full electoral cycle of four years, in order to provide continuity and effective oversight of the elections.
To avoid gaps in the constitution of the commission, “we recommend that the President and Constitutional Offices Commission consider appointing Commission members on a staggered basis so that all appointments do not expire at the same time”.
“This would avoid gaps in maintaining a quorum of members leading to the EC breaching its statutory obligations and would help to retain critical institutional knowledge within the EC membership to enhance the EC’s performance of its functions.”
