The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) is at a crossroads on how to finance a re-run in the event that the Supreme Court rules in favour of a petition filed by Azimio la Umoja seeking the nullification of the presidential election.
IEBC chairperson, Wafula Chebukati, has previously stated that the Commission does not have funds for a re-run.
Should the court answer Azimio prayers to throw out the presidential election results, IEBC would be forced to reach out to the National Treasury for funding.
With Kenya falling among top five countries in the world with most expensive elections, Kenyans.co.ke reached out to legal experts on how much the National Treasury would have to release to IEBC for a re-run.
According to lawyer Apollo Mboya, high cost of living and the falling value of the Kenya shilling would play out as key factor in considering funding a re-run.
"Should there be a re-run, then it would cost more than what IEBC spent in the previous re-run when Supreme Court overturned President Uhuru Kenyatta's win in 2017. This will be based on various factors including the high cost of living and the value of the Kenyan shilling," Mboya stated.
Even though Mboya did not specify the exact amount, he noted that it would cost above Ksh12 billion, which IEBC spent in the 2017 presidential election re-run.
This, he said, was because of the cost that would be incurred to print the presidential ballot papers once again and paying IEBC officials who will manage the exercise.
"Re-run is a bit cheap than a General Election because in this case, it will be a repeat presidential election."
His sentiments were echoed by another lawyer, Bob Mkangi, who said that the Commission will have to mobilise more staff to manage the exercise and printing extra papers for the affected candidates.
"We cannot speculate for now but should it rule in favour of Azimio, we expect the cost to be higher due to vulnerability of the shilling," Mkangi stated.
In the just concluded election, IEBC stated that printing a single ballot paper cost around Ksh23, inclusive of the Value Added Tax (VAT).
Cost per voter in Kenya is capped at Ksh1,785, doubling what Ghana’s election cost per voter in its previous election which was at Ksh890.
The Supreme Court has so far received nine presidential petitions challenging president-elect William Samoei Ruto's victory.
The seven-Judge bench led by Chief Justice Martha Karambu Koome will determine the case within the provided threshold of 14 days which falls on Monday, September 15.
The hearing will take a record three days before the seven-Judge bench writes its verdict.
