IEBC PLANS TO REGISTER NEW VOTERS AND SPEND MONEY AHEAD OF 2027 GENERAL ELECTIONS

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission(IEBC) plans to spend sh57.4 billion in the upcoming 2027 elections. According to Legal Affairs Committee Chairman Gitonga Muruga, the planned spending on various activities is sh5.12 billion while sh3.7 billion is to be spent on normal operations all in preparation for the general elections. In its proposed budgetary allocation of sh9.6 billion for 2025/2026, the commission proposes to spend sh788 million on pending by-elections.

The chairman also added that the commission plans to register about 6.3 million new voters in addition to the 22.2 million in the current register. He told the budget and appropriation committee that the IEBC requires 59,352 election kits whereby 55,393 kits are for polling stations and 3,959 are for training. The agency proposes to replace 45,352 kits bought in 2017, while the 14,000 acquired in 2022 would be reused in 2027. He added that the situation was necessary due to high bills for election result transmission and foreign exchange losses.

The commission has pending bills amounting to sh3.799 billion whereby legal fees account for sh2.65 billion and election logistics sh297 million.