Nairobi governor-elect, Johnson Arthur Sakaja, revealed that he spent Ksh15 million on agents during the August 9 elections.
Sakaja was speaking during an interview on Citizen TV, where he criticised the complicatedness of the Kenyan electoral process.
He noted that the election period has become a truly expensive affair and the financial burden on the political candidates can be too much to bear.
The Nairobi governor-elect stated that he spent Ksh15 million to pay his 3,643 agents across the various polling stations in the county.
Sakaja revealed that he could not afford to pay his agents for the extra days that were consumed by the vote tallying and verification exercise, adding that his supporters provided service for free.
"We need to have an electronic transmission for our polls. I have just finished sorting out my agents. It cost me Ksh15 million. I had 3,643 agents for 3 days of work the rest just volunteered," Sakaja stated.
Sakaja's remarks back a report by the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KRHC) which indicated that Kenya's election is one of the most expensive in the world, with the August 9, 2022 poll budget set at Ksh40.9 billion.
The funds financed various activities of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) throughout the entire electioneering exercise.
KRHC noted that IEBC procured each ballot paper at a rate more expensive than a Kenya shilling note.
The papers had special features including generic watermarks and capabilities that made it impossible to photocopy – which is the same technology used in the printing of currency notes.
Printing this year’s election cost the taxpayers Ksh3.2 billion.
The wage bill was among the key drivers of costly elections in Kenya and the Commission spent Ksh6 billion on over 11,000 temporary employees.
