Ahmed Issack Hassan

Mr. Ahmed Issack Hassan is the Chairperson of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) of the Republic of Kenya from November 2011 to date. Before that he was the Chairperson of the Interim Independence Electoral Commission (IIEC) from May 2009 to November 2011. He was appointed on November 9, 2011,^[1] to Chair the electoral body comprising eight Commissioners following a recommendation by Parliament.

As a practicing Lawyer, Ahmed Issack specialized in Commercial and Constitutional Law. He has worked as an Associate Advocate, partner and Head of Litigation department and as the Managing Partner in the law firm of Messrs Ibrahim, Issack & Co. Advocates until May 2009. He served as a Commissioner on the Constitution of Kenya Review Commission (CKRC) from 2000 to 2005. In June 2006, he was appointed by H.E. President Mwai Kibaki to serve on a Presidential Commission of Inquiry to inquire into breaches of National Security by Artur Margaryan and Artur Sargasyan (Artur Brothers). He has also worked as Legal Consultant for the United Nations Political Office for Somalia (UNPOS) training Somali Parliamentarians on Constitutionalism and Federalism in Baidoa, Somalia in 2006. He also served as Legal Consultant for UNDP-Somalia on the Somalia Constitution Making Project from June to December 2008. Between June 2006 and May 2009, he served as a General Legal Counsel for the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia. During the same period, he also served as a Special Legal Adviser to the Transitional President of the Transitional Federal Government of Somalia, the Late Col. (Rtd) Abdullahi Yusuf.

Mr. Issack has served on several Boards and statutory Commissions, including the Board of Governors of Garissa High School and the Board of Directors of Water Resources Management Authority (WRMA).

Mr. Issack has participated in numerous forums on election management and shared experiences with election officials from other countries. He has observed elections in many countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, Canada and the USA. He has also authored several articles and publications on governance, security, human rights, elections and international law.

In April 2011, he was the Head of the AU Observer Mission to Nigeria’s Elections. In December 2012, he was the Head of the EISA Observer Mission to Ghana’s Elections. He has contributed towards the development of jurisprudence in elections and has been called upon to make presentations at various national, regional and international conferences. In December 2010, Mr. Hassan was awarded the Uwiano Platform Award by the UN and the Kenyan National Cohesion & Integration Commission. In December 2010, he was awarded a National Honour titled the Order of the Elder of the Burning Spear (EBS) – Second Class conferred by His Excellency the President of the Republic of Kenya for rendering exemplary services to the nation.

In November 2011 Mr. Issack was awarded the CIO-100 Leadership Award for Visionary Leadership at the Commission and Foresight in embracing ICT as a transformation tool in the Management of Elections. In November 2013, at the 7th International Electoral Affairs Symposium, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Mr. Issack was awarded an International Electoral Award by the International Centre for Parliamentary Studies (ICPS) for outstanding achievement in Election Management and Conflict Resolution.

He has served as Chair of the East African Community – Electoral Commission Forum (EAC – ECF) based in Arusha, a member of the Executive Committee of the COMESA Electoral Commission Forum based in Lusaka. He is the Chairman of the Executive Council of the Association of African Election Authorities (AAEA) based in Accra. He also serves on the Executive Board of the Association of World Elections Bodies (A-WEB) based in Seoul and is currently the Chairperson of the Commonwealth Electoral Network Steering Committee (CEN – SC), based in London.

Early life and career

Mr. Ahmed Issack Hassan was born on March 2, 1970. He attended Garissa High school in 1988 before proceeding to the University of Nairobi where he graduated from the University of Nairobi in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in Law. Thereafter he proceeded to obtain a Post-Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice from the Kenya School of Law in 1994. He was admitted to the Bar as an Advocate of the High Court of Kenya on 23 February 1995. He later went into private legal practice. Mr. Issack is also a Certified Public Secretary of Kenya (CPSK) and a member of the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), East African Law Society (EALS), International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) (Kenya Chapter), Institute of Certified Public Secretaries of Kenya (ICPS), Association of Professional Societies of East Africa (APSEA), Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) and the International Bar Association (IBA). .^[1]

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