Mr Ezra Chiloba Simiyu has been appointed as the new CEO of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

“Following a thorough recruitment process the IEBC has today, 12 January 2015 appointed Mr Ezra Chiloba Simiyu as the Commission Secretary/CEO of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) having emerged as the most successful candidate in the interviews,” the commission chairman Issack Hassan said in a statement yesterday.

Simiyu replaces the former CEO James Oswago who was suspended in August last year on grounds of abuse of office and irregular procurement of electoral kits by the IEBC.

Simiyu, who trounced three other candidates has been serving as the Deputy Team Leader, DAI (Drivers of Accountability). He has previously served as Governance Analyst/Project Manager for UNDP Kenya. He holds a Master of Arts degree in Public Policy from the Central European University and a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Nairobi and is a senior fellow at the Policy House and a member of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK).

His first task as the CEO of the IEBC is to preside over the upcoming Homa Bay and Kajiado Central by-elections next month. He also has a major task of restoring public confidence to the IEBC.