Preparations for the 2027 General Election may face major hurdles after the National Treasury revealed that the Ksh9.2 billion needed for the exercise has not been allocated in the latest budget estimates.
Treasury Principal Secretary Dr Chris Kiptoo raised the concern before the National Assembly’s Budget and Appropriation Committee, urging lawmakers to reconsider the missing funds before submitting their reports next week.
Kiptoo’s presentation highlighted broader financial constraints affecting various government programmes, attributing the gaps to revenue projections that have fallen below target.
The PS appeared before the committee to represent Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi to discuss the FY 2025/26 and Medium-Term Budget Estimates.
The PS’s revelations add to a prior statement by the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee Chair, Gitonga Murugara, who told the same committee that IEBC’s preparedness for the 2027 general election may face further hurdles over Ksh3.8 billion in pending bills.
The Ksh3.8 billion includes Ksh2.65 billion owed in legal fees, while Ksh298 million covers election logistics. Parliament directed the commission to submit primary documents supporting these claims before any additional funding can be approved.
In preparations for the 2027 election, IEBC plans to register about 6.3 million new voters, adding to the current 22.1 million voters already on the register. The commission also requires 59,352 election kits, 55,393 for polling stations, and 3,959 for training.
Out of these, 45,352 kits purchased in 2017 will be replaced, while 14,000 kits bought in 2022 will be reused. If the gap revealed by PS Kiptoo is not filled, these preparations may be impounded, threatening the much-anticipated elections.
Apart from the missing 2027 preparedness budget allocation, the PS revealed that other essential areas also face budget allocation gaps.
Kiptoo, in his presentation, highlighted unfunded areas, including police medical cover worth Ksh17.6 billion and police group life cover amounting to Ksh6 billion, both missing from the current budget estimates.
HELB scholarships require Ksh34 billion for university education, along with Ksh11.3 billion for TVET scholarships.
The PS told the Budget Committee that the FY 2025/26 budget projects revenue at Ksh3.3 trillion (17.2 per cent of GDP) and total expenditure at Ksh4.2 trillion (22 per cent of GDP), with the fiscal deficit expected to reduce to 4.5 per cent of GDP.
"First, inflation has declined to 4.1 per cent in April 2025, from a peak of 9.6 per cent in October 2022," Kiptoo told the committee.
