The Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) has proposed to the reuse the 2017 election materials for the 2022 general election as a way of cutting cost.
In addition The commission Chairman Wafula Chebukati wants the agency given the liberty to buy the election materials locally to further manage expenses.
In his statement he said, “We must start having a discussion now on how to re-use all the electoral materials that we used in the 2017 elections when it comes to 2022. Whether it is the voter identification and results transmission kits, or anything else that can be re-sued.”
He further added saying that, “This idea of wasting election materials, we must discuss. If for example we do not spend money on the upgrade of the Kiems kit software in 2021, people will turn up, and demand new ones. And then we will have to spend billions again. We should be able to re-use all that is re-usable.”
He also noted that the national Treasury, has failed to facilitate the establishment of an IEBC Fund, an avenue he said could give the commission an opportunity to spend money long before the elections as opposed to the current situation where money is released shortly before polling.
He also revisited his proposal to the National Assembly to reduce the number of commissioners from the current seven to a minimum of three and a maximum of seven.