NAIROBI, Kenya, Sep 22 – Insufficient funding could scuttle critical preparatory activities ahead of the 2022 General Elections, electoral commission has warned.
The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) on Wednesday said it was facing financial constraints in undertaking key operations to facilitate a tamper proof poll.
During an engagement forum with Faith Based Organizations in Nairobi, IEBC Chairperson Wafula Chebukati indicated the Treasury had only availed Sh26.4 billion leaving the agency with a Sh14.6 billion deficit to attain a fully funded budget of Sh40.9 billion.
“As a commission we are being exposed to the risk to under-funding,” he said.
The poll agency attributed the estimated budget to a legislative framework governing the electoral process which results in expensive elections.
Requirements under the framework include the capping of maximum registered voters per polling station.
“The law says that you cannot have more than 700 voters in a polling station. We’re now targeting to register more than 6 million voters that will mean we will increase our polling station from 40,833 to 53,000 plus polling station. This means we’ll shall employ more election officials,” Chebukati said.
The poll body explained that delayed funding has previously stalled crucial electoral processes exposing the commission to exploitation by vendors and service providers due to the urgency to adhere to our election cycle.
“Over the years the funding of the commission has not been adequate and in tandem with the election cycle. This constraints our activities in the procurement process,” he noted.
About The Author
