Report Shows Why Kenyan Elections Are Among World's Most Expensive

An image of a ballot box
IEBC officials open a ballot box after the Law Society of Kenya election exercise at Nyeri law court station on February 18, 2012.
Daily Nation

Kenya's election is one of the most expensive polls in the world, with the August 9, 2022 poll budget set at Ksh40.9 billion.

The funds will finance various activities of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) throughout the entire exercise.

According to a new report by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KRHC), the Commission procured each ballot paper at a rate more expensive than a Kenya Shilling note.

The papers have special features including generic watermarks and capabilities that would make it impossible to photocopy – which is the same technology used in the printing of currency notes.

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Voters queue at a polling station in Rurii ward, Nyandarua County on Tuesday, May 18, 2021
File

"The ballot paper has nine security measures compared to Kenya Shilling note which has only five, making a ballot more expensive than a unit which buys it," stated IEBC Commissioner Dr. Julius Nyangaya.

Printing this year’s election will cost Ksh3.2 billion. Kenya ordered the printing of 22,120,258 papers to be used for all the six elective seats in the August 9 polls.

According to Nyangaya, wage bill is among key drivers of costly elections in Kenya. In this year's case, he said the Commission will spend Ksh6 billion on over 11, 000 temporary employees.

This also includes a manual system of election which according to the commission costs Ksh5 billion. However, divisions have emerged on as to whether IEBC should use a manual register on August 9, with Azimio flag-bearer Raila Odinga threatening to boycott the elections.

The Commissioner in his statement attributed the cost to "trust deficit issues."

United States is among countries that hold most expensive elections. In 2020 poll, the country spent Ksh1.7 trillion, and Ksh6,608 on each of its 250 million total registered voters.

India, one of world's most populated countries had 910.5 million registered voters, spending over Ksh10,000 per voter in its 2019 poll.

Germany is considered among developed economies globally with less spending on general election. The country spends a mere Ksh12 billion.

Cost per voter in Kenya is capped at Ksh1,785 doubling what Ghana’s election cost per voter in their 2016 election at Ks890.

The cost of one Kenyan voter is twice as expensive compared to what it would cost Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda combined.

In this year's election, there are more than 53,000 polling centres. The electoral agency also procured tamper-proof seals for the ballot boxes that each candidate or agent is supposed to use to seal the boxes. 

IEBC Commissioners inspecting the arrival of ballot papers at JKIA on July 7, 2022.
IEBC Commissioners inspecting the arrival of ballot papers at JKIA on July 7, 2022.
Jeff Angote