Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

top

Kenya

Voters roll and plebiscite to cost Kenya Sh10b

NAIROBI, Kenya, Dec 8 – The Interim Independent Electoral Commission (IIEC) says it will need at least Sh10 billion for voter registration and the Constitution referendum scheduled for next year.

Chairman Ahmed Issack Hassan whose team met on Tuesday with Chief Mediator Kofi Annan, expressed confidence that that they would deliver electoral reforms in the country.

“It’s going to cost Sh3.6 billion to conduct the referendum, Sh6.4 billion to conduct voter registration and set up the secretariat,” he said and revealed that the Treasury only allocated IIEC Sh1 billion in the current financial year.

He said Mr Annan pledged to assist the commission get funding from the UN Department of Political Affairs and other bilateral donors.

The IIEC expects to complete the recruitment of key personnel for the secretariat by the end of this month after which training of staff will begin.

The commission is currently interviewing candidates for the position of electoral coordinators in all 210 constituencies. The IIEC is also to employ 210 deputy coordinators on a four-month contract.

The commission whose two-year mandate includes setting up a new voters’ roll, will also hire 50,000 registration clerks to be stationed in various constituencies.

Procurement of the necessary voter registration material will be complete by February next year, in time for the four-month countrywide voter registration and the referendum, according to Mr Hassan.

Already, a tender for upgrading the commission’s server and hardware has been floated and the IIEC has advertised for 18 million voter registration materials, said Mr Hassan.

Advertisement. Scroll to continue reading.

Mr Annan, who was accompanied by fellow member of the AU Panel of Eminent African Personalities Graca Machel, also met with the Interim Independent Boundary Review Commission (IIBRC).

Commission Chairman Andrew Ligale said the second round of collecting public views would commence in January on the delineation of the constituency boundaries.

He added that their recommendation will be based on a formula that will increase equity among Kenyans.

“The law says consider the equality of the vote but take into account population density where you ensure that both urban centres and sparsely populated rural areas are well represented,” said Mr Ligale.

About The Author

Comments
Advertisement

More on Capital News