How IEBC plans to spend billions on 2017 elections

PHOTO | BD GRAPHIC 

By ANNIE NJANJA, ANjanja@ke.nationmedia.com

The cost of conducting elections in Kenya is increasingly going up. A budget report prepared by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) shows preparations around the 2017 elections will cost approximately Sh 40.55billion over a three-year window to 2018/19.

The agency hopes to get an allocation of Sh18.97b allocation for the 2016/17 fiscal year and has requested the Treasury to lump it up with Sh16.95b expected for the financial year starting July 2017 to avoid disruptions in planning for the polls.

In the fiscal year beginning July, the IEBC has set aside Sh3.29 billion for phase two of voter registration that is estimated to employ 30,000 clerks for 30 days.

Out of that kitty, the IEBC has set aside Sh952 million for transporting voting kits to polling stations, voter registration assistants (VRA) and monitoring.

About Sh1 billion will be spent on paying clerks, ICT assistants and VRAs. The IEBC estimates that voter mobilisation and registration will cost Sh350 million as diaspora voter listing is expected to cost Sh120 million.

The second mass listing of voters is planned for early next year, the launch phase in February having got 1.4 million voters, but falling short of the agency’s goal of another eight million voters before the polls.

It is estimated that electoral technology support for mass voter registration will cost Sh200 million while training of registration clerks will consume Sh150 million.

The agency estimates the general elections operations will cost Sh9.22 billion. About Sh3.5 billion will go into revamping technology.

There will be a 30-day inspection following registration of voters which will be carried out by 15,000 clerks at Sh1.2 billion. Sh511 million will be spent on transporting the BVR kits, officials and surveillance.

The electoral agency predicts that there will be an additional 13,000 voting stations, from the previous 31,000, due to the increase in the number of voters.

Each polling station will be manned by a presiding officer, a deputy and six clerks.

Additional polling stations will require more voter identification kits, result transmission gadgets and additional hands, one of the factors that automatically result in a hike in budget.

READ: IEBC seeks Sh3.5bn to replace faulty voting kits

Due to the increase in the number of polling stations, the IEBC will buy 106,000 ballot boxes and replace the faulty ones at Sh265 million.

The IEBC puts cost per voter at about $24 (Sh2,400). The growing population and inflation rate are some of the contributing factors to the swelling numbers

For an upgrade, the polls body is seeking to buy electronic identification and results transmission kits similar to those that proved unreliable in 2013, when election results were highly contested.

The amount will revamp electronic voter identification devices (Evids), nomination and result transmission systems.

The body has allocated about Sh1 billion to go to unspecified election materials.

A continuous voter education is being carried out at Sh1.65 billion while litigation and compliance have a budget of Sh509 million where Sh206 million will go towards gazettement and publicising and Sh303 million will be spent on legal fees.

Administrative and operations will take Sh4.7 billion.