Members of Parliament have rejected the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission’s (IEBC) request for Sh63 billion to run the 2027 general elections, arguing that the Sh43 billion already allocated by the Treasury will adequately cover costs.
During a session before the National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Justice and Legal Affairs on Tuesday, IEBC Acting CEO Moses Sunkuli presented a detailed breakdown of projected expenses, highlighting wages for polling staff at Sh12.4 billion, voter registration at Sh6.9 billion, and replacement of KIEMS kits at Sh6.2 billion as top spending priorities.
“The total resource requirement for the 2027 General Election is Sh63.95 billion,” Sunkuli stated, adding other key allocations, including recruitment and team building at Sh1.77 billion, staff welfare at Sh1.36 billion, vehicle maintenance and procurement at Sh438 million, media campaigns and bulk SMS at Sh2.94 billion, stakeholder engagements at Sh2.35 billion, legal petitions at Sh2.35 billion, and statutory contributions for poll officials totaling Sh12.38 billion.
The Commission anticipates registering 28.63 million voters, including 6.3 million new entrants identified from the National Population Register, across 55,393 polling stations, an increase of 9,169 stations from the 46,229 used in the 2022 elections.
Despite the rise in stations, the number of voters per station is expected to remain around 700.
Plans for continuous voter registration and verification six months before the election are underway, along with replacement of 45,352 KIEMS kits and upgrades for 14,000 units bought in 2022 at Sh175,000 each.
Sunkuli also noted outstanding bills from past elections amounting to Sh5.63 billion, cautioning that delays in payment could escalate costs, hamper operations, and trigger lengthy court cases.
The Commission additionally requested Sh1.5 billion to acquire land and initiate construction for the Uchaguzi Centre, emphasizing the importance of timely funding.
Sunkuli warned, “If these pending bills are not settled in time, suppliers may withdraw services and goods essential for conducting elections and other commission functions.”
However, MPs pushed back on the additional funding, stating that the Treasury’s Sh43 billion allocation is sufficient for the 2027 polls. They also directed the Commission to submit an expert report on the KIEMS kits before any replacements are procured.
The planned replacement of 45,352 kits has now been put on hold, although 14,000 kits from 2022 will still undergo upgrades.
The IEBC reiterated its constitutional mandate under Article 88, which requires it to conduct and supervise elections, maintain continuous voter registration, revise voters’ rolls, delimit constituencies, regulate party nominations, register candidates, educate voters, facilitate observation, monitor compliance, and develop a code of conduct for political parties and candidates.
