Shortage of staff and Kiems kits await new IEBC commissioners

The lack of commissioners may not be the only challenge facing the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC).

An audit of the commission by the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) revealed several positions at the IEBC are vacant. The audit was conducted in November 2024.

It reveals that the IEBC approved staff establishment had 296 vacancies in various cadres of staff as of June 30, 2024, which were not filled by the time of the audit in November 2024.

The positions included 30 county accountants, 32 county supply chain management assistants, 30 senior elections officers, and 19 assistant elections officers, among others.

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“As a result, the Commission engaged casual staff who performed key roles and had access to confidential information and documentation of the Commission,” read the report in part.

Further, vacancies arising out of natural attrition in the commission were not filled through promotion of existing staff or external recruitment due to a lack of Commissioners to approve the same leading to the appointment of members of staff in acting capacities and subsequent payment of acting allowances.

IEBC as per the audit explained that the process of filling the vacant positions began in December 2021, but was temporarily halted to allow the Commission to prepare for the August 2022 general elections.

Auditor General Nancy Gathungu, in the National Government Audit Report for the Financial Year 2023/2024, noted that the operations of the commission stalled due to a lack of commissioners.

The commission has been operating without commissioners since the departure of all former members between December 2022 and January 2023. Lack of commissioners, as per the report, has hindered key policy decisions and strategic directives as well as the commission’s capacity to formulate policies and strategies and oversee its secretariat.

The Auditor General said the failure of the Executive to initiate the process of replacing the Chairperson and the Commission Members within six months before the expiration of their terms was a breach of the provisions of Section 5 of the IEBC Act, 2011.

The Auditor General said the absence of a duly constituted commission made it impossible for the pending by-elections to take place, denying the citizens of the affected regions the right to exercise their sovereign power through their democratically elected representatives.

The delimitation of electoral units also stalled. The report revealed that the first delimitation of boundaries under the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, was due by March 2024. But the commission failed to undertake the activity due to a lack of commissioners.

The continuous registration of voters and revision of the voters’ roll the audit revealed were not conducted.

“In the circumstances, the Commission failed to fulfil its constitutional and regulatory responsibilities, which may negatively impact the democratic process in the country,” read the report.

The audit revealed that the National Treasury was in breach of the law for failing to operationalise the IEBC Fund. The audit revealed that the Commission’s funding from the National Treasury in the financial year in the form of exchequer amounted to Sh4,483,268,000.

The failure to operationalise the funding the Auditor General said contravened Section 18 (1) of the IEBC Act, 2011. The Act stipulates that the monies of the Commission shall be held in the IEBC Fund, which shall be administered on behalf of the Commission by the Secretary.

The report revealed that the Commission’s expenditures relating to salaries, allowances, and other remuneration for its employees and members of committees were not paid from the Fund. This contravened Section 18(2) of the IEBC Act, 2011, which provides that such expenses shall be paid from the Fund.

The report also raised concerns about the status of the Kiems kits. Between 2017 and 2022, the Commission procured a total of 59,100 Kiems kits, which comprised 45,000 Morpho kits and 14,100 VIU-100 (Smartmatic).

However, it was observed that 3,433 Kiems kits were faulty, 200 Kiems kits were not returned after the 2017 and 2022 general elections, two (2) were reported as lost, and 30 were burnt in Wajir County. Further, 159 kits dispatched for by-elections and petitions were yet to be returned to the Election Technology Centre, leaving the Commission with only 55,286 kits.