Nairobi — The Constitutional Boundaries delimitation process by the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission (IEBC) now risks being halted due to financial shortage of Sh 7.2 billion in the estimated 2023/2024 budget.
Justice and Legal Affairs Committee (JLAC) Chair George Murugara while making recommendations before the Budget and Appropriation Committee stated that the election agency requires an additional allocation of Sh9.8 billion for the boundaries review process and Sh2.3 billion for pending legal fees.
In the proposed budget estimates for the financial year 2023/2024, the electoral body has been allocated Sh4.53 billion which is a shortfall of Sh14.3 billion according to their resources requirement.
"We haven't been given any money for boundaries delimitation, they are asking for Sh7.2 billion. If you don't do this, we have no clue over what the court will do. Possibly they may try to disband some of us," Murugara told the Ndindi Nyoro-led committee.
IEBC is responsible for the demarcation of electoral boundaries guided by population and other considerations set out in law.
According to Article 89 (5) of the Constitution, constituency boundaries are such that the number of inhabitants in the constituency is as nearly as possible to the population quota.
Article 89 of the Constitution requires IEBC to review names and boundaries of electoral areas at intervals of not less than eight years and not more than 12 years.
In the breakdown of the Sh 7.2 billion for boundary delimitation, Sh 1.1 billion has been budgeted for wages, Sh0.6 billion for equipment, Sh1.3 billion for legal fees and Sh0.4 billion for ICT.
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The poll agency has allocated Sh0.3 billion for capacity building during the countrywide process, Sh1.2 billion for post-voter registration after reviewing constituencies boundaries which might reduce or increase depending on the population quota.
Public Education and Partnership is set to cost the poll commission Sh1.2 billion while Communication during the exercise is billed to cost Sh1.1 billion.
In the Sh9.8 billion push for the additional allocation, Sh2.6 billion is required to pay for pending legal fees by legal firms who have handled legal cases for the poll body since 2013.
The crisis is that the longer the bills remain unpaid the more they accrue interest which is an extra expense to the taxpayers.
"Lawyers bill are going up every day, they are taxing. They are just waiting for us to constitute the IEBC and they will start locking them up at the commission," Murugara said.
In the breakdowns of the legal fees, routine constitutional and civil cases incurred (Sh1.76bn), presidential election petitions of the August 9, 2022 election (Sh567.3mn), and pre-election petitions on political parties and dispute resolutions (Sh479.2mn).
IEBC Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Marjan Hussein has previously revealed to MPs that the reason why pending bills have been piling especially on legal matters is that the budgetary allocation in election year focuses on operations and maintenance expenditure.
