IEBC seeks Sh59.3 million for Emurua Dikirr by-election

The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) will use Sh59 million to conduct the Emurua Dikirr by-election according to documents tabled before Parliament.

The amount is part of a wider Sh887.95 million additional allocations that the Commission is seeking under the 2025/26 financial year Supplementary budget II, to enhance electoral preparedness ahead of the 20227 polls.

Appearing before the National Assembly’s Justice and Legal Affairs Committee(JLAC), the electoral agency implored the House team to grant its Sh59, 375, 491 request for funding so as to undertake the by-election following the demise of the late Johana Ngéno last month.

IEBC Chief Executive Officer Moses Sunkuli told the MPs that the by-election budget was not included in the supplementary budget I currently under consideration by the National Assembly because it is yet to receive a writ from Speaker Moses Wetang’ula.

“The commission is yet to receive a writ for Emurua Dikir Member of the National Assembly. However, the commission has prepared a budget estimate of Sh59, 375, 491 which is not part of the supplementary I estimates,” said Sunkuli.

Ngéno lost his life in a helicopter crash on February 28. The helicopter, an AS350 registered 5Y-DSB, went down around 4:30pm on Saturday in Kabiyet Sub-location, Mosop, Nandi County, while en route from Endebess to Mosoriot, killing all six people on board.

Besides Ngéno, the victims included Nick Kosgey, the MP’s personal photographer, Wycliffe Kiprotich Rono, a protocol officer with Narok County, Robert Kipkoech Keter, a teacher, Amos Kipngetich Rotich, a forest ranger and George Were, the pilot.

At the same time, the Commission is seeking an increment of Sh887.95 million to its Sh9.33 billion allocations for the current financial year, to help it ramp up preparations for the General Election.

According to the documents before Parliament, the proposed additional allocation will go the purchase of Commissioners Motor Vehicle (Sh 168 Million), purchase of Furniture for the commissioners (Sh10 Million), renovation of Commission offices (Sh120Million), stakeholder engagement for the upcoming Enhanced continuous voter registration (Sh 50 Million), construction of a situation room (Sh 40 Million) and a media campaign for the enhanced continuous voter registration (Sh100 million).

It is also seeking Sh392.06 million for by-elections for eight elective positions that were held on 27th November, four Elective positions held on 26th February and the upcoming two County Assembly Wards by-elections. 

The amount also includes an exit package for the immediate former CEO Hussein Marjan.

“The Commission also requests that the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee assist it in securing additional budgetary allocation to facilitate settlement of the outstanding pending bills amounting to Sh4.98 billion,” added Sunkuli.

The request by IEBC for additional funding comes against the backdrop of another which was outrightly rejected by lawmakers.

Appearing before the JLAC last month, IEBC had sought to increase its 2027 elections budget to Sh63 billion.

According to the Budget Policy Statement for the 2026/2027 financial year tabled before Parliament, the Erastus Ethekon team had requested for an additional Sh22 billion in funding of which a substantive allocation was to go towards the purchase of new KIEMS kits at Sh6.2 billion and upgrading of existing ones at ShSh3.8 billion, continuous voter registration at Sh6.9 billion, the purchase of election materials including ballot papers and logistics at Sh2 billion and the construction of a Sh1.5 billion Uchaguzi centre among others.

IEBC had requested an overall budget of Sh64 billion to conduct the general polls, but the National Treasury has capped its operational budget at Sh41 billion, hence the Sh22 billion shortfall.

But appearing before the MP George Murugara-led JLAC committee, the Commissioners were, however, at pains to defend their multi-billion-shilling budget even as the House team poked holes into its proposed budget, further questioning the Commission's priorities ahead of the definitive 2027 polls.

Key among the contentious issues raised was the planned disposal by IEBC of 45,000 “obsolete” KIEMS kits and upgrade of 14,000 new ones, the inexplicable surge of legal pending bills from Sh2.6 billion in the previous financial year to Sh5.6 billion in the current year, and the lack of sufficient budgetary allocation by the Commission towards the procurement of ballot papers.

The House team consequently rejected the Sh63 billion budget proposal by IEBC for the 2027 general elections based on what they termed as wasteful and misplaced priorities by the commission.