BBI referendum to cost Kenyans Sh14 billion - IEBC

 

It will take the country Sh14 billion to conduct the BBI refrendum, IEBC has said.

IEBC acting CEO Hussein Marjan on Wednesday said the Commission has already listed the requirements for the plebiscite and is ready for the exercise.

"We have already sat down and asked ourselves what is required for the exercise," Marjana told MPs.

"It will cost Sh14 billion though we are still fine tuning."

He said they have considered the 19.6 million voters, a number he noted might have increased due to the continuous voter listing exercise.

Marjan spoke when he appeared before the National Assembly Public Accounts Committee chaired by Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi.

This comes as the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission unveiled its own reforms, days after the Building Bridges Initiative recommended its overhaul before 2022 polls.

In a report to Parliament, IEBC wants the number of commissioners reduced to five, including the chairperson as opposed to the current seven.

“This will help increase the commission’s efficiency and effectiveness as well as reduce the potential for factionalism within,” the report titled ‘Electoral Law Reform in Kenya: The IEBC Experience’ reads.

IEBC further wants the appointment of commissioners staggered "for continuity, institutional memory and succession."

A member other than the chairperson should be an advocate of the High Court, an ICT expert and and a human resources practitioner.

The IEBC is opposed to the BBI proposal to allow political parties to nominate commissioners, saying it would be a drawback on the agency’s independence.

“Political parties' interests are sufficiently catered for in the vetting process since the selected commissioners are approved by the National Assembly,” the report reads.

The commission further wants a provision for parties to substitute deputy presidential candidates before and after nomination.

It also seeks laws providing that those joining the commission renounce their dual citizenship prior to their nomination.

The Wafula Chebukati-led team wants general elections staggered for national and county polls to be held on different dates.

  To tame poll violence, the commission wants the sale of alcohol banned 48 hours to the election date.

On the problematic vote results transmission, IEBC proposes that the law should provide that they shall be transmitted electronically by scanning Form 34A.

“In case of failure of technology, Form 34A shall be physically delivered to the national tallying centre and verified against the physical Form 34A,” IEBC told MPs.