Sources within the committee told The Standard there were questions on whether the interviewing panel conducted background checks on the nominees before forwarding their names to President Uhuru Kenyatta.

The committee noted that other than Dr RoselyneAkombe, a political officer at the United Nations and Dr Paul Kurgat, a senior lecturer at Moi University, none of the other candidates has the necessary experience on electoral matters, a key requirement for one of the country's most important jobs.

"There was a feeling by some members the selection panel did not do a lot of background check on the nominees. However, our work was not to check on whether the candidates met the conditions set out in the advertisements. That work should have been done by the panel," said a committee member who spoke to the Standard in confidence.

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The Ainabkoi MP, Samuel Chepkonga-led team spent three hours at Parliament's County Hall considering the candidates before finally adopting its report.

The report is set for tabling during a special session of the House next Tuesday.

With just six months left before the next elections, the Standard has learnt committee members had no option but to approve the names, even in the face of evidence that some candidates do not have the requisite experience on electoral matters.

Among those approved was nominee for position of commission chairman Wafula Chebukati, the only lawyer in the team set to replace the nine commissioners who resigned last year under pressure from the Opposition coalition, CORD.

Others are Consolata Nkatha (Public Relations practitioner), Margaret Mwachanya (Kiswahili expert), Abdi Guliye (animal scientist) and Boya Molu, a human resource practitioner.

During adoption of the report, some members questioned the fact that Ms Nkatha does not hold a bachelor's degree, even though she has two master's degrees, and also questioned her conduct when she worked at the National Museums of Kenya.

SourceThe Standard (press release)