In a report on the poll released on Tuesday, the Independent and Electoral Boundaries Commission (IEBC) announced that it spent Sh54 billion on the 2017 poll.
How you ask?
The 2017 General Election and the October 26 Presidential repeat poll cost the country a whopping Sh54.1 billion spread in two financial years out of the Sh65 billion allocated.
According to the Post-Election Economic and Fiscal Report (PEEFP) released on Tuesday by the National Treasury, the elections, which were prolonged after the Supreme Court nullified the August 8 presidential poll, the government through various agencies spent Sh22.6 billion (40 per cent of the total budget) during the 2016/17 financial year and the remaining Sh31.6 billion (60 per cent) in the 2017/18 budget.
Out of the total allocation for the two financial years, Sh54.1 billion (83.3 per cent) was spent by end of December 2017, which includes Sh22.6 billion in the 2016/17 financial year and Sh31.5 billion allocated in the current financial year.
National Treasury Cabinet Secretary Henry Rotich said that last year’s elections were the most costly in the country’s history and left a huge dent in the economy.
“The last general election gobbled up about one per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), making it one of the most expensive elections the country has ever witnessed,” Rotich said at a forum in Nairobi yesterday.
This report captures all election related spending including, direct election expenses such as those incurred by the Independent Election and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) for the cost of elections and election materials.
It also captures indirect election expenses such as allocations to police and security forces for the election year and other expenses related to the election specified in regulations or instructions.
During the preparation phase, IEBC spent Sh46.2 billion to register voters and revise the voters’ roll. It also registered candidates for elections and carried voter education, among other functions.
After the election, the Commission was responsible for settlement of electoral disputes; facilitation of the observation, monitoring and evaluation of elections. Some of the other agencies that ate into the election budget include the Ministry of Interior and Coordination of National Government, which was in charge of security across the country during the campaign and at the polling stations during the August 2017 General Election and October 2017 repeat Presidential Election.
Besides its budget of Sh134.6 billion in the 2016/17 and Sh79.2 billion in the current financial year, the ministry was also allocated Sh7.4 billion in two tranches to cater for security operation costs during electioneering.
The election allocation represented 5.5 per cent of the total allocation for the State Department and 11.5 per cent of the total election related allocation for the two years. “Out of the total allocation towards the 2017 general Election, the State Department was able to spend Sh7.4 billion (13.8 per cent) of the total expenditure for the General Election.
The State Department utilised almost 100 per cent of the total approved allocation for both FY 2016/17 and FY 2017/18,” the report notes. The Office of the Registrar of Political Parties was also allocated Sh351 million for activities related to the General Election in the two financial years.
Out of this allocation, the office spent Sh123.7 million during the election period, representing a 35.2 per cent of the total allocation for the two years. The Judiciary spent Sh157.9 million for the numerous disputes during the whole campaign period while the executive spent Sh301.1 million for the assumption of office.
This also included Sh102.9 million for Ministry Foreign Affairs, Sh36.9 million for State Department for Broadcasting and Telecommunication, Sh15 million for State Department for Arts and Culture and Sh146.3 million for State Department for Interior. All these expenses were for preparation for the swearing in and enhanced security during the occasion.