IEBC says it needs Sh61.7 billion for 2027 polls

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) revealed Tuesday it requires Sh61.7 billion for the 2027 general election.

Deputy Chief Executive Officer  Obadiah Keitany told Parliament the commission’s budget for boundary delimitation is Sh7 billion, but still awaits court advisory.

“The commission projects an additional 5.7 million new voters, to have a total of 28 million in the 2027 election,” Keitany said.

This is likely to cause concerns that Kenyan elections remain the most expensive yet divisive and unreliable.

IEBC said 14 by-elections are still pending, which are projected to cost about Sh480 million.

The electoral body said some 45,352 Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS) kits, which IEBC uses to electronically capture voters’ facial images, fingerprints and civil data, need replacement before the next polls.

“There will be a total replacement of 45,352 KIEMS kits, except for the 14,000 bought in 2022. In total, 59,352 kits are required,” said IEBC Finance Director Osman Ibrahim.

Ibrahim explained that KIEMS kits become obsolete after 10 years and that the total cost of replacing them is Sh7 billion, going by the Sh65,000 cost of each.

IEBC says it has not registered new voters since 2022 because they do not have a budget or commissioners.

The commission has not been constituted since the remaining former commissioners left in 2023 and its selection panel is in the process of recruiting a chairperson and new commission members.

Kenya’s 2022 general elections involved 22,120,258 voters and were among the most expensive in the world, at a tune of Sh44.6 billion.

The process of recruitment of new commissioners and the commission chairman is ongoing.