IEBC budget for by-elections, 2027 polls set for reduction as Treasury demands efficiency - Citizen Digital

National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi speaking before the Senate Devolution Committee.

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will be forced to reduce its budget for both the by-elections and the General Elections in 2027. This is according to National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, who lamented that elections in the country are too costly, insisting there is a need for efficient use of public funds.

Speaking when he appeared before the Senate Devolution Committee, Mbadi said the IEBC should not be buying some election materials every election cycle, urging the commission to reuse some materials like ballot boxes.

“There are things that you buy and you don’t dispose of immediately. Why do you buy them every election cycle? Every election cycle, you want new things. Even ballot boxes?” Mbadi posed, referencing reusable items such as ballot boxes and surveillance equipment.

“We’re going to ask tough questions. The IEBC must be efficient. The cost of elections in this country is simply too high,” he added.

Mbadi, however, said they will have to make funds available for both the impending by-elections and the 2027 General Elections despite not availing the funds in the current budget.

“We have no option; we must run elections in 2027 and even the by-elections, so we have to realign our budgets. I know IEBC is complaining, but they must be efficient; the cost of elections is too high,” he said.

Mbadi’s proposal comes at a time when a political showdown is looming as Kenya’s top political players prepare to face off in upcoming by-elections for 22 electoral positions—seen by many as an early test ahead of the 2027 General Election.

The mini polls will see contests for six National Assembly seats, one Senate seat, and 15 Member of County Assembly (MCA) positions.

Kenya’s elections are among the most expensive on the continent. For instance, Kenya spent approximately Sh36 billion on its August 9, 2022, general elections, with the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) accounting for Sh34.5 billion in direct costs and the remainder in indirect expenditure.

This means that for the IEBC, the 2022 election exercise, which involved 22,120,258 registered voters, cost about Ksh. 2,000 per voter.