Members of Parliament have rejected a proposal by the electoral commission to raise the election budget to Sh63 billion, insisting that the Sh43 billion already allocated by the Treasury should suffice.
The dispute centres on a budget policy statement presented on Tuesday by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC). In the document, the commission argued that it would require an additional Sh20 billion to conduct the polls.
According to the breakdown, the largest share of the proposed budget would go towards wages, estimated at Sh12.4 billion. Voter registration would cost Sh6.9 billion, while replacing Kenya Integrated Election Management System (KIEMS) kits would take Sh6.2 billion.
IEBC officials said most of the 45,352 KIEMS kits currently in use are obsolete and would need to be replaced at a cost of about Sh6 billion. Only 14,000 kits purchased in 2022 would be retained, and even those would require upgrades costing Sh175,000 per unit.
Lawmakers, however, were unconvinced. Several MPs questioned the urgency of purchasing new kits and directed the commission to provide an independent expert assessment to demonstrate that the existing equipment cannot be refurbished or reused.
The standoff reflects broader tensions over public spending at a time when Kenya faces fiscal pressure and rising debt obligations. Parliament has taken a firmer line on expenditure in recent months, with legislators wary of approving major increases without detailed justification.
Beyond technology costs, the commission also projects growth in the scale of the election itself. IEBC estimates the number of polling stations will rise to 55,393 in 2027, up from 46,229 in the last general election, an increase of 9,169 stations. The number of voters per polling station is expected to remain capped at 700.
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