NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 30 – The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Thursday dismissed assertions by former Prime Minister Raila Odinga that a refurendum to amend the constitution will cost Sh2 billion defending projected budget of Sh13.7 billion.
The electoral agency Chairperson Wafula Chebukati said the estimates factored in “all major cost drivers such as technology, ballot papers, temporary poll officials and security, among others”.
He added that the “the cost of conducting elections under COVID-19 environment is also included”.
Chebukati whose future at the agency remains uncertain however said that the commission will prepare a detailed budget in readiness for the anticipated Building Bridges Initiative (BBI) vote.
He assured that the commission will hit the road running once it receives such a notification to conduct a referendum.
“Such a budget will be presented to relevant institutions for scrutiny and approval,” he said.
The former premier had on Thursday dismissed Chebukati’s calculations and noted that the country should be able to conduct a one ballot referendum at no more than Sh2 billion for 20 million voters.
Chebukati who has since dismissed some of the proposals contained in the BBI report ostensibly those seeking reconstitution of the poll body however, defended the estimates and cited the 2010 referendum where the commission used Sh10 billion, a fact he said Odinga had “conveniently forgotten”.
“This happened under Raila’s watch when he was the Prime Minister. The cost per voter then was Sh794. At the time, these figures never attracted offensive statements from Odinga. It is disingenuous for him to cast such aspersion without seeking clarifications from the Commission,” Chebukati said.
Odinga, who has championed for a constitutional change through the implementation of the BBI report which was launched on Monday at the Bomas of Kenya has consistently pushed for the exit of Chebukati’s team to pave way for a total overhaul at the agency.
“Elections have become one of the major avenues for ripping off the country through various schemes that are never meant to save costs or yield credible results but to line pockets of individuals. Those schemes are evident in the IEBC’s latest reasoning,” he said.
Chebukati said IEBC will continue to operate independently and shall not be subject to the direction or control by any person or authority as per the constitution.
Parliament has already kick-started the process to ensure that Kenyans vote for the contents of the BBI report by next year before the 2022 General Elections.
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